Civil War
by twilightdarlin's
Summary: We loved Jasper’s character so much; we wanted to fill in his story. The story goes through time when he was a young officer in the Civil War; to falling in love with Alice; to assisting an adult Renesme with an important decision
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

Civil War

The story of Jasper Whitlock

Chapter 1

There I was, sitting at the table in the kitchen of my parent's home. It was a small home with just the necessities; a two bedroom with a living room and a kitchen. I was surrounded by my family having supper, corned beef hash tonight. My father sat at the head of the table with his aged, tired eyes from a long day in the field. My mother, sat at the other end readying herself to thank the lord for the supper we were lucky to have that night. Her long blond hair was pulled back in a braid. She had on a worn cotton dress that had seen it better days. My brother sat opposite from me. He was tall for his age, still gangly though. I was tall for my age too, blond hair, light blue eyes, and a tan from working in the fields.

We bowed our heads to pray. My brother watched me as I rolled my eyes at what my mother was praying for. She wanted this war to end. I wanted nothing more than to join the Confederate Army. My family knew of this desire. My mother said I was too young. I was almost seventeen. I knew what I wanted. Why couldn't they see I was old enough to make my own decisions? I needed a plan. I was going to find a way to join. I knew once I did, great things were in store for me.

All my thoughts were on trying to find a way to join. After supper, as we prepared for bed, I began to plan. First, I had to get away from the people who loved me. Then I had to convince the recruiters I was old enough to join. A thought hit me... my dad always said I had a way with people. He said it was charisma. I could use this to my advantage. I decided I had to run away. I would go to the recruiters and lie about my age. I could pull this off. I was always told that I was old for my years. "This is going to work" I told myself, "This has to work". I knew this would break my family's hearts; but, this something I had to do.

Running away was easy. I left after I was sure everyone had fallen asleep. Quietly, I crept out of the small cottage and headed for Houston. Of course, I had to pass through one town on my way. Too many people there knew me there and knew I wasn't old enough to join. So, it had to be Houston. I arrived around supper time but my mind wasn't on food. I headed strait for the recruiters.

There were two dirty, unshaven middle aged men who I knew to be recruiters sitting at a table in front of the saloon. I walked up to a soldier who looked me up and down. Guessing my age I suspected.

"What's your name boy?" his deep voice asked.

"Jasper Whitlock, sir. I want to sign up."

"How old are you, son?" he commanded.

"Twenty." I said, hoping he could detect the uncertainty in my voice. I held my confidence as he looked me strait in they eye, the whole time chanting in my head '_believe me, believe me'_.

"Alright, make your mark here boy." I can't believe it worked. I was now a part of the greater good. My heart soared.

Having found a new confidence in myself, I decided to test my limits and went into the saloon to celebrate. I walked right up to the bar and ordered a whiskey. The whiskey took my last piece of silver, but it was well worth it. I looked up and saw one of the saloon girls sitting on a man's lap. She was looking strait at me with a smirk on her lips. She began to excuse herself from the man and walk over to me. I realized what she had in mind and quickly gathered my things, stood up and began for the exit. I tipped my hat to the lady and left the saloon. I could hear my mother's words echoing in my head, "_You must always be a gentleman, son."_

As I walk down the street, I think back to the reason I decided to join in the first place. I mean I had just signed up for _war_. I knew this was the right thing to do. My father would have been off in war if it wasn't for the accident a few years back. He was out plowing the field and his ass got spooked by a rattler. The animal took off for the woods with my father in tow. The doc couldn't save his hand. We managed around the farm though. My brother was yet to be a man and still needed at the farm; so, he couldn't stand in my pa's place. Much to my mother's dismay, I was the only one left to honor my family name in the war. I knew this would break my mother's heart. I was ready for this. I had to kill me some Yank's. That's all there was too it.

I was so lost in thought that I jumped at a gentle touch on my shoulder. A quiet voice whispered "Are you ok sir?" I looked up to see the most beautiful emerald green eyes staring back at me. Her thick auburn hair was parted down the middle, pinned back and covered with a snood. Her skin was pale and covered in freckles. The smile on her full pink lips was warm and sincere. "Um… Sir? Are you ok? I I didn't mean to startle you."

"Uh, yes, ma'am. I am fine I was just… I'm Jasper Whitlock" God that was a dumb response.

"I'm Sher- um… Sheridan O'Brian; I have seen you in town with your folks. My pa owns the general store."

I remembered her. She helped Ma last month when we were in town for supplies. I saw her then though I had my mind elsewhere. I had been thinking about the war, of course. Wow, those O'Brian's could really reproduce. "_Jasper Whitlock" _my mother's voice chided me "_how dare you think of a lady like that? Where are your manners? I raised you better than that." _Darn.

"Sure. I remember you." Well, if that didn't right my previous dumb response.

"Oh well, um… I was wondering…. Never mind. Sorry I bothered you." What, huh, Wait. "N-no go ahead, what were you going to say?" What was I doing? I couldn't believe I was talking to such a beautiful lady. I had never had such courage before. This must be the whiskey talking.

"Well," she continued "I overheard you talking with some of the boys in town that you were going to enlist. I had this made hoping that I would see you again before you did. I was hoping you would take it with you." In her hands was this small rectangle object. It was a tin-type of a lovely lady; her. I looked up at her hopeful eyes. She seemed to have some sort of affection for me. I smiled back at her. "Sure darlin', I'd be honored to hold this picture while I am gone." I held out my hand. Her beautiful smile grew wider as she handed her picture to me.

"Can I be expecting some letters?" I asked, hoping for something else to look forward to during my months ahead. I was no dummy. War was a hard thing to go through and if you didn't have something to keep you grounded. You could find yourself loosing your mind. I, of course, didn't want any of that. I hoped fervently that she would consider sending me letters. Much to my relief she smiled again. "If that would please you, then I will. Will you be returning letters?"

"If I could have your address, I would write you as often as I'm allowed." I figured I would return the favor since this might bring more letters. "It is on the back of the picture" she said. So, she had this all planed out. I see now that this lady was no dummy either. I tipped my hat. "Thank you, ma'am." She had just offered to help me retain my sanity. _I wish there was a way to spend a bit more time with her before I had to leave. _As if reading my mind, she hesitantly asked "Jasper, have you eaten supper?"

I had thought of supper, but I didn't have the money for it. "Not yet, darlin' I was thinking of grabbing a bite on my way out of town." I lied.

"Well, you see, I was so busy at the store tonight that I haven't had a chance to eat yet. Would you… um… like to join me. My ma made stew and cornbread and there is plenty left… if you're interested."

I hadn't eaten anything since supper last night. I was so excited to leave that I forgot to grab some biscuits. Maybe she heard my stomach growling. I was too hungry to refuse though; not to mention I wanted more time to visit with Sherri. "Sure, darlin', I would love to join you."

She was beautiful. Her green eyes glittered as I accepted. I offered my arm to her and she laced hers through. Sherri led me slowly down the street back toward the store.

The walk back was quiet. Mostly my mind was on her. She glanced up at me occasionally and all I could think of was how mysterious her eyes were. I would like to have unlocked the secrets they held. Maybe the letters would help. My mind went from her eyes to her delicious lips. How I would like to kiss her just once before I leave.

We arrived at the store. She guided me through to the back where the kitchen was. There was one small table with three chairs up against the wall on one side. I sat down and waited for my bowl. I hadn't had stew in months not to mention cornbread… She brought our bowls over and sat next to me. We said a prayer of thanks and began to eat. The food was amazing. I ended up having two bowls. We didn't talk much. I suspected she was shy much like me.

After the supper, I collected my things to go. I didn't know how long I would be allowed to stay, but I wouldn't over stay my welcome. I began to head for the door. Sherri stood up and followed me. Once we were outside on the porch, I stopped and turned around to face her. We were alone; interesting.

"Thank you for supper. It was delicious." This was the truth. Best supper I had eaten in a while.

"You're welcome. I am glad you liked it." She said.

We stood there for a few minutes not saying much, just standing together. I looked down into her big green eyes for a moment before asking "Sheridan, darlin'… May I kiss you? I I mean… um…. Because I will be gone for so long…. I was wondering if I-"

She reached up and pushed her soft, pink lips against mine for more than just a moment. It was my first kiss. She was so soft and yet firm against me that I raised my hand to the back of her neck and held her there. She finally pulled back, smiled and walked back into the house without another word.


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

Chapter 2

I had been in the Confederate Army for a little over a year. They stationed me in Galveston, Texas. It was nice to be about 50 miles away from home, not that I was looking to return. I had a job, and I was good at it. On many occasions, I was called to entertain Colonel Cook. He was the commander there in Galveston. There had been many times he asked my opinion of certain situations. It seemed I was well suited for the life of a soldier, and he took my advice willingly.

I was promoted very quickly; almost a rank a month. The army was new and trying to get organized, so I used this to my advantage. I was a major, the youngest one in all Texas. I was only seventeen at that time though they thought I was twenty-one.

I was holding up well in the army. I received three letters from Sherri. Though I didn't need them as much as I thought I would have. It was still nice to read through them on the occasion things got too rough.

_December 17, 1861_

_Dear Jasper,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. I received your letter. It was lovely to hear from you._

_I am glad to hear your ranks have increased so well. Soon, they may not need you on the_

_front. I worry for your safety. The thought of you in danger turns my stomach so. _

_Your ma came to town today. She sends her love. She is worried too. Don't fear, she hasn't_

_let your secret slip. Your father seemed proud. He grinned at the very mention of your _

_name. Your brother was with them. He didn't say anything at all. I am sending a Christmas _

_present. It isn't much, but I hope you like it. I noticed when you were_

_here that you didn't have any reading material. I look forward to your next letter. Stay safe_

_until then._

_Merry Christmas,_

_Sheridan_

_April 22, 1862_

_Dearest Jasper,_

_I hope you are well. I am so proud of you; First Sergeant. That is big! I continue to write_

_you as often as I can. I received another letter from you last month. It was so worn, I almost_

_couldn't read it. I would have thought since there was only 50 miles between us, the mail_

_would be more dependable. I suppose there are more important things than the mail_

_though. Your ma asked me again to send her love. Your pa got the fever two weeks ago, but _

_your ma says he is better now. Doc says he will make a full recovery. He was very lucky._

_Others in town haven't been so fortunate. Mrs. Morris didn't make it. She rests with the good _

_Lord now. As always, I look forward to your next letter and pray for your safe return._

_Yours truly,_

_Sherri_

_August 12, 1862_

_My Dearest Jasper,_

_I pray this letter finds you well and thriving. I received another letter. This one made it here_

_quickly. It was dated last Monday, the fourth. You must be proud of yourself for making _

_Captain. I must ask though, are you finally off the front line? I fear I will never see you_

_again. My heart breaks every time I think about it. I have prayed for nights on end. I ask the_

_good Lord to spare you and send you home to me; to your ma and pa. I haven't mentioned_

_to your ma my fears. She needs to believe you are going to come home. I want to believe it_

_too. Please tell me you are safe. Come home soon._

_Affectionately yours,_

_Sherri_

The letters, of course, were growing more affectionate with time. I was sure I was missing something in the letters that didn't make it to me. I cared for Sherry. She had been so kind to me. I just didn't feel as strongly for her, as she did for me. I did read the book she sent. Poems were not usually my taste, but I enjoyed _Sonnets of Love & Death_. I felt I could relate.

"_I think of the great Alexander and what he won_

_or Caesar whose breast was burning with that same_

_appetite for conquest, power, and fame…._

_But those fires die to ashes when they are done."_

As far as I knew though, I was certainly going to make it home after the war had ended. I didn't understand her fear for my not returning. It was nice of her to be so concerned and to convey my parents love, but it was unnecessary to be so sad. We were going to win this war, and I would be heading home soon as a decorated war hero. My parents would be so proud. I would be someone my little brother could look up to.

Jesse was well behaved and respected my parents. When it came to me, he seemed to resent me for some reason. It hadn't always been that way though. Up until a year before the war began my brother looked up to me. Then one day while we were in town, we were horsing around just outside the general store. Ma was buying some grain and fabric so we were to wait outside for her. All the sudden my brother stopped dead in his tracks. I didn't know what happened but he seemed to change after that.

I was determined to do well in this war to earn the respect of my family and friends. Colonel Cook called me one morning just after dawn. I went to him thinking I would be just there for a visit. It didn't seem anything had happened for a bit of time and I thought it was going to be a friendly conversation. When I got there, however, he was pacing back and forth. One hand was behind his back and the other was rubbing his temple. He looked worried.

"Major, I'm glad you're here. We have an issue," he began. "Renshaw sent a truce flag. I fear he is going to demand we surrender. I can't do that, not with the women and children in town. There is no telling what they will do if we give in. I need your advice."

I had no idea what to say. I didn't know what to do. The women and children would have to be evacuated immediately but there was no one here that would be qualified to lead them out; no one that was, except for me. I didn't want to leave though. I was designed for battle and I wanted to stay.

"I could take them; lead them to Houston with a few soldiers. I could be back in just a few days. If you could wait until then, the soldiers and I will be able to help if they try to take the city." I was hoping he wouldn't say yes but at the same time I knew he would agree. It was the right thing to do. It was safer for the women and children to be 50 miles away from a battle.

"It would seem we have no choice. Gather 4 of your finest men and make preparations. You will take the civilians in groups. You have to get them out as quickly as possible" he commanded.

It took all day to gather as many women and children as we could. By that time the Union's treaty flag had returned to their fleets. From a distance, we saw four steamers towing a motar boat approaching. I walked them quicker trying all the while to keep them quiet and calm. I spoke reassuring words to the frightened women. This actually seemed to help. The whole way to Houston, I spoke to them. I assured them they were safe and this would all be over soon.

We finally arrived at the city. It was dark but I knew I had to hurry to get back. Hopefully, I would be in time to get the rest of the women out of Galveston. I spoke to the commander there, explained who I was and what had happened. After everyone was situated, my boys and I left. We headed to the stables to grab new horses.

"Sir, there is only one horse here ready to make the trip" the stable boy told me. "In the morning the other horses will be well enough to head out but tonight they need to rest. I would venture to say you need the rest to."

That was unnecessary. I needed to get back even if I went alone. "Privates, you stay the night, rest up and eat something. I'll return to Galveston tonight and tell Colonel what is going on."

"Yes, sir." They seemed relieved to not be going back.

I saddled up and rode out into the night. I pushed it because I was anxious to get back. If there was a battle going on, they needed me to be there. I didn't get far though. About a mile out of city limits I saw three ladies standing in the middle of the road. I stopped the horse and climbed down. I thought, at first, they were stragglers and I would take them to the city.

When I looked at them, I was speechless. They were three of the most beautiful females I had ever seen. I knew they weren't with the Galveston women I had just dropped off in Houston. I would have remembered them. One had dark hair while the other two were blond. They all had pale, smooth skin. They were very young and their features were flawless.

"He's speechless," one blond said. Her voice rang like chimes. She leaned in and breathed deep. "Mmm, Lovely."

"Concentrate, Nettie" the brunette said in a sharp tone. "He looks right- young, strong, and officer…. And there's something more… do you sense it?" She looked at the other two. "He's compelling."

I stood there staring at them. I was unable to speak. They were discussing me as if they were sizing me up for something. What though I was unsure.

"Oh, yes," the blond named Nettie agreed. She leaned in again.

"Patience, I want to keep this one." The brunette commanded Nettie. She seemed to be in control of the other two. It was as if she were their leader.

"You'd better do it, Maria, if he is important to you. I kill them twice as often as I keep them." Nettie said. They were going to kill me? I should be running right now. If I knew what was best for me, I would be running but I couldn't. I was mesmerized by these ladies in front of me.

"Yes, I'll do it," Maria agreed. "I really do like this one. Take Nettie away, will you? I don't want to have to protect my back while I'm trying to focus." She was speaking to the other blond. If they weren't going to kill me then what were they going to do?

"Let's hunt," Nettie said while reaching for the other blond's hand. Ever so gracefully they sprinted toward Houston with their dresses flowing behind them.

"What's your name, soldier?" Maria asked me.

"Major Jasper Whitlock, ma'am," I replied without thinking. My ma always taught to be polite to a female. I was sure that meant even if she might have been about to kill you.

"I truly hope you survive, Jasper. I have a good feeling about you." She said while taking a step closer to me. She tilted her head as if she were going to kiss me. I was very confused. _Run, run you fool!_ But I couldn't. I was frozen in place.

Then I felt this horrible pain in the side of my neck. She was biting me; hard. I tried to scream but I couldn't find my voice. My neck was burning like it was on fire. Maria grabbed onto my shoulders and pushed as if she was trying to get away from me, but her mouth was still latched on my neck. Finally, she broke free and let out an ear piercing screech as if she were in agony. My neck burned and my head was light. My eyes were starting to black out. I felt me knees buckle under me. I fell to the ground and blacked out.


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

Chapter 3

Fire, I was in a fire. How did I get here? I was being burned alive. What had I done to deserve this? I could feel fire all over my body, from my head all the way down to my toes. I screamed out in agony. I thrashed around, trying to get out of the fire. I tried to crawl a bit, but it did no good. I lay there burning, accepting my fate of dying here and now.

My parents wouldn't see me anymore. My brother would never look up to me again. I would never know the outcome of the war, though I was certain we would have won. This was it, I was dying.

"It's the venom," a voice said. "It will pass." Venom, I don't understand. What venom was this and why would it pass? All venom I knew of would kill you. Was she saying _I_ would pass? Wait, I recognized this voice. She was the lady I found on the road. Her musical voice was a dead give away. I heard steps fading as I drifted into a burning, restless sleep.

Burning, I was still burning? Shouldn't I be dead by now? I had been on fire for how long now? I should be dead. Venom usually kills it victim within a day or so. I had been on fire for at least that long, probably longer. I heard muffled noises, but I hurt too much to make anything out. So, I drifted back to a fiery sleep.

"AAAAHHHH" My eyes flew open. I came too only to find that I was still burning. How long would this last. I continued to scream. I didn't know where I was, and I was sure I should be dead, but here I was. I lay on the ground in a small dirty room. There was nothing in there, just four walls and a door.

The door opened slowly. I saw someone step in. She was petite and thin. She had on a long, flowing, white gown. Her brown hair was loose; her features flawless and skin pale. Maria, the lady who… who… bit me. Was this right? The lady who stood in front of me now, bit me? Venom, she mentioned venom. What was this I was going through? I obviously wasn't dying but rather I was changing, but into what? My mind drifted off. I was too tired to think, and I was still burning all over.

I woke again. I opened my eyes and looked franticly around the room. My breathing was fast and strained. My heart was racing more rapidly than it ever had. I saw the beautiful lady sitting in a corner staring at me. She seemed excited but I was at a loss as to what about.

"W-where… a-m… I-I" I stammered. I couldn't see strait and my breathing was so strained that my words were almost incoherent.

"It is almost time." she said. "Soon you will be reborn. You are becoming one of us; a vampire." What was she speaking of? That was folk lure, the stuff you tell your children, so they wouldn't stay out after dark. "You make me proud already. I can feel you power emanating from you as you lay there. You feel fear. I can feel it. That is a good sign." She said with a grin on her lips.

My heart beat accelerated still, only I could feel the fire slowly receding. My toes were cooling and my fingers too. I was so relieved, I could have cried if I were the type. My feet and palms began to cool; then my ankles and wrists. As the fire cooled in my extremities, though, my heart burned hotter. I didn't think it possible yet it was. My legs and arms cooled; my knees and elbows cooled. Slowly, the fired was ending, only for the flame in my chest to incinerate me. I screamed and writhed at the pain in my lungs and heart.

Maria just sat in her corner of the room with that same, satisfied grin on her face. The fire in my chest intensified and my heart rate hastened until it sounded like the buzzing of a bee. Was it true? Was I changing into a vampire? I would never see the sun again, never eat garlic or hold the cross that my mother gave me as a child. I couldn't believe what had happened. My whole life was changed in the matter of one bite. _Bite, oh no! I was going to have fangs. I was going to drink blood. _What had Maria done to me?!?!

All the heat had welled up in my heart, leaving my body cool and pain free. My heart was soaring, until, it just stopped. Nothing, I must be dead after all, I didn't make through the transition. But, I was still here, thinking, looking and _living._ I took a big breath to make sure I was alive. Breathing felt strange, as if I didn't need the air. I just couldn't stop the action though. That felt worse.

Maria stood and walked over to where I lay on the floor. She knelt down to me and reached for my hand. I stood up, darted across the room so quickly. I had just thought about getting away from her and I was suddenly away. She stood up and turned around to look at me. This time she didn't approach me.

"I'm Maria. ¡Feliz cumpleaños! You have just been reborn into a wonderful life as a vampire. My companions, Nettie and Lucy will be here in a bit to explain the rules to you." She had a Spanish accent.

"Rules?!" I asked. Is that my voice? It sounded like the bass in a choir. Deep as it had always been, but more musical in its tenor.

"Of course, there are rules. There are always rules. Don't worry, they are simple to follow. You will do just fine here. I am certain." The small Mexican vampire said. "Just sit down and relax. I will send them in." With that, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

I didn't feel like sitting. I didn't feel tired. I looked around the room trying to get my bearings. My sight was clear. I could see everything better than I ever had. I could hear noises coming from beyond the walls. There was a great deal of talking, most of which was masculine.

"I could take you any time, anywhere. Don't push me" one voice said.

"I'd like to see ya' try" said another.

"Boys, boys, play nice or there will be severe consequences. We wouldn't want to cut your time short, would we?" I heard another familiar, female voice; one from the night on the road. Nettie was chastising the men in the other room for starting to fight. "Lucy, go check on the newborn."

It was quiet for a moment, then the door opened. A tall, blond walked in. She was wearing a white dress too, much the same as Maria's. She stood in front of the door as she closed it behind her back. "I'm Lucy. I am here to give you information." she said.

She explained everything to me. She told me, I had become a vampire, though I knew that from what Maria told me when I was burning on the floor. I would not get fangs. That I was disappointed about, it could have been fun for Halloween. Garlic had no effect on me but I wouldn't be eating traditional food. According to Lucy I would not need food or drink. I would not need to sleep or rest. Crosses were still crosses; I wouldn't fear the holy symbol in this new life. Lucy told me I was strong and nearly invincible. I could feel my skin was hard as stone. She said they turned me because I had some power they were impressed with. She didn't tell me anything more about it other than I was special in ways that not many of our kind was. She said I would need to hunt as soon as it was dark. She didn't go into detail with that; she only said she would teach me that evening.

She said we were in a war, not the kind that I knew about. That war was inconsequential to me. I was a part of something bigger than humans fighting over land. I couldn't imagine that was possible; if not land then what.

"We are fighting for territory." Lucy explained.

"Isn't that the same?"

"No, we don't fight for dirt. We are fighting to hunt. Our territory was taken from us a year ago and we want it back. Maria thinks you can help; we'll see" Lucy seemed skeptical.

The noise in the other room was getting louder. It seemed another fight had broken out while we were talking. This one was worse than the last one though. "It seems as though we will find out if Maria was right about your potential." Lucy told me. "Wait here for a moment."

She left for only a moment and when she returned Maria was with her. "I want you to think of a calming thought. Think of something that makes you relaxed and happy." Maria instructed. I thought about it for a moment. There was a pond out at our farm. I loved going out there with some worms and a pole. I would sit there all day, even if the fish weren't biting.

"That's it, Jasper, very good. Now I need you to try to send that feeling to me. Will it to me if you can," she said. I didn't know what I was going to be doing, but I decided to suggest to her in my mind that she feel the same feeling of calm. In my mind I told her _imagine feeling calm_. I wasn't sure if I were doing it right but I was trying very hard to get her to feel the way I felt.

Her brow began to wrinkle as if she were getting upset. It wasn't working; I would have to try harder. I stared at her intensely, concentrating on making her brow smooth out again. I thought hard on the pond. I let the feeling of calm wash over me as if I were there now. Maria's brow relaxed. She looked up at me and smiled.

"Very good, Jasper. Come with me please," she said. I did as I was asked. I followed her to the next room. I saw five other men standing near each other. The were facing off as if they were going to kill each other. Their fists were balled up and their shoulders tense. They weren't talking anymore just standing there. I could feel how angry they were. I was starting to get angry. I could feel my blood boiling as if I held a steak in this fight. I instantly felt as though I hated them, all of them. I had never met these men in my life, and I could feel their hate so strongly that I hated them.

"Jasper," Maria called, "Do you remember what you did in the room a moment ago?" I nodded. My shoulders were tense and my eyes angry. "Good, close your eyes for me and think back to the calm. I need you to do this quickly.'

"Boys, boys, please don't make a spectacle of yourselves." Nettie said to them. It didn't help they were still staring at each other ready to pounce. "Jasper…"

I closed my eyes and thought about the pond. I thought about the fish and the sun setting over the horizon. I remembered being there just last year before I left for Houston to enlist. The calm washed over me. I couldn't remember why I felt such hatred toward those men. I knew what Maria was asking me to do. She wanted me to send the calming effect over the men the way I did her in the room a moment ago, so I concentrated on sending that feeling out of my body. I looked up at the men across the room. I looked into the faces and willed them to feel my happy place. I looked at their fists; _open, relax_, I suggested to them. I focused all my attention on the men urging them into calm and it worked. I could see them begin to relax. I could feel the tension ease out of the room.

Maria put her hand on my shoulder and whispered to me, "Muy bueno, mi hijo. Very good." I looked down to see her eyes were fascinated with what I had just done.


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

Chapter 4

I had only been a vampire for three weeks. Maria had created five more vampires very recently. She was only changing males. She was making an army. These men were all soldiers and were very short tempered. They argued often, but usually left me out of it. I'm sure they didn't want to upset Maria.

The animosity toward me was fierce, though. A fight with me was bound to happen. I expected it. After three weeks of Maria openly praising my power, which was still undefined, one of the soldiers picked a fight with me. At first I blew him off. "I don't want to fight with you." I told him. He was outraged at me for brushing off his badgering.

"You think you're so perfect. Just because Maria likes you the best, you think you are better than the rest of us," he antagonized. "You need to be taught a lesson, _boy. _I am just the man to do it, too."

"I said I don't want to fight you. You are nothing to me." As I said this, I felt his anger pierce me as if it were a knife. The rage consumed me. It took everything I had, not to lung for him.

He stepped closer to me and shoved me into the wall. In that very second, I lost it. My rage accelerated, and I lunged forward. I knocked him to the ground and punched him. I continued to bash his face, quickly realizing this wasn't doing much more than distracting him. I bent over and bit his jugular. I tore it off and spat it across the room. This had an effect on him, so I continued to bite and spit, until nothing remained of his throat. I grabbed his head and threw it into the fire place. I ripped off his arms and legs in a fit of fury. Those, too, went into the fire along with his torso.

I stood there, watching the flames lick around the dismembered creature that had once been my comrade in arms. I saw the pieces of his body char right in front of my eyes. I didn't entirely know why I felt such rage toward him. I knew he hated me with a passion, but I didn't care either way for him.

Maria walked in the room. "I heard a commotion. What happened?" I continued staring at the flames not sure if I should look at her. "Jasper…" she continued. "Do you want to say something to me?" I didn't respond. "Jasper, I can feel your anger. I can also feel a hint of remorse. Your emotions are radiating. Why don't you tell me about it?"

I closed my eyes, gathered my thoughts and looked down at her. "I really don't know what came over me. One minute I didn't care that he was picking a fight, the next, I was furious. I couldn't control my anger." I told her. "I'm not sorry though. He had it coming."

"You fight well. You are very strong," she complimented me. "Of course, this means I am down another man. Oh well, we will just have to fix that. Tonight you hunt with Lucy." She turned and walked out of the room as swiftly as she entered.

I looked around. The nine other vampires stood cautiously on the far side of the tiny room; fear emanating from them. I returned to where I stood before the brawl and relished in my first kill. Defeating him felt good.

A few months passed; I killed six more vampires. Maria was getting frustrated with me. She replaced the vampires I killed easily, but every time I killed one, it set her plans back. She wanted to attack Monterrey soon but I was slowing the process. Maria told me over and again that I needed to stop killing her recruits. But every time I killed another one, she rewarded me by sending me out with Lucy or Nettie to hunt.

One night, she walked up to me while I stared at the fire. "tsk, tsk. What am I going to do with you? You are so strong, smart too. But you're holding me back, Jasper." She was finally getting tired of me. "Jasper, what would you say if I were to put you in charge of them?"

"I don't understand," I said.

"A promotion, if you will. If I were to have you take responsibility of keeping my soldiers from fighting, would you accept?"

I didn't even have to think about the answer to this. A promotion was exactly the kind of thing I was used to. My whole life I was being promoted in some fashion. "Of course I would accept." Maybe I could even use my _abilities_ to keep them under control.

"Good, now if you can keep them from being killed, you will be rewarded. I need to go to town tomorrow night to recruit so I will leave you in charge of the boys. If I come home to find even one bite had been exchanged; I will have no need of you anymore. Are we clear?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am, I will keep everything under control." I assured her.

The following night, Maria left with Nettie and Lucy. I looked at the others; there were 12 of us at the moment, trying to think of how I would keep them calm. I stood in the corner, completely still as only a vampire could be. I waited before I did anything. I didn't see the need to calm them if they were already calm enough.

"What you lookin' at, boy?" one of them said. He was one of the bigger recruits, but I wasn't afraid of him. I had more important things to concentrate on. "I asked you a question," he continued. I could feel his agitation building but there was no threat, yet. I continued to ignore his comments, and he went back to talking to the boy at his side. So far, so good.

The night passed without consequence. Maria, Nettie and Lucy returned with their newest recruit. Nettie walked him to the room I had been in when I first arrived. Lucy went into the other room by herself and Maria approached me.

"I see no one was destroyed tonight. I am pleased," she said.

I knew I couldn't take complete credit for the night. I didn't have to use my power at all, though I could take credit for not killing any of them myself. "I didn't have anything to do with it, tonight."

Maria grinned at me. "Si, I understand. You have done well. We will go out again after this one awakes; two or three nights. I would also like you to assist us when we speak with him." She nodded her head over her shoulder to the room with the body. I nodded an agreement, and she left the room.

The days passed in a blur. We trained outside during the night, because even though the sun wouldn't burn us up, we sparkled like glitter. If someone was to walk past on the road and see us, he would know we were… different. We spent the days indoors discussing strategies. I had to use my extra senses often as these men were very opinionated. As soon as I felt the tension rise, I thought about my pond. I kept their emotions in check and our losses slowed dramatically. For this, I was rewarded often; since I was rewarded often, I was stronger than the others.

We began to work together after a short while. Our fighting skills were increasing. There were twenty-three of us. Maria was confident of our success. "We leave for Monterrey tonight," she announced. "We'll surround them then attack. The five of you will go with Nettie. You six will go with Lucy. I want you six to stay with Jasper; and I want the five of you with me." She divided us up into groups. I was surprised when she gave me my own group; it made me proud and eager to succeed. She continued, "Jasper, take your men to this side," she pointed to an area in the dirt around the circle she created to represent Victor and Alexis' coven.

Victor and Alexis were the vampires who ran Maria out of her territory a decade earlier. They kept newborns with them as well, but not nearly as many as we had. "Lucy, you lead yours over here; Nettie, I want you on this side. I will bring up this side and we will block them in. They only have nine newborns; no one will dare have more than that. They are afraid of The Volturi," she said.

"What's "_The Volturi_?" I asked. I had never heard her mention this before.

"Not what, but who, and they are of no consequence right now. I will tell you later. Right now, I want all of you sharp and focused. We have a very important night ahead of us; vominos."

We left, and headed for Monterrey. We were always discreet, especially when we were traveling in such a large group. We positioned ourselves around the coven's camp. Maria gave us the signal, and we moved in. We didn't bother with running in, instead we walked casually. They were still very surprised. The newborns jumped up, they faced my group. Then they heard Nettie's group approach from behind them and spun around; only to see Lucy's and Maria's group already in place to strike.

"Alexis, how lovely to see you again," Maria said.

"What do you want?" she asked Maria.

"Tsk, tsk, you know exactly what I want. I want my territory back. You stole it from me. No one ever steals from me; no one." That was our sign to attack. We ran to the newborns first; ripping them apart as though they were rag dolls. One of them attacked me from behind while I was fighting. He bit into my neck but didn't manage to take the chunk. I reached around me and grabbed him by his neck. I threw him against a nearby tree. The sound made a loud crack and the tree shuddered. I leapt forward and bit his cheek. While he was dazed, I put both of my hands on either side of his head and pushed it up till it popped off. I threw it aside, grabbed his thrashing arms and pulled. I moved on to another one, pulling him off Lucy before he could kill her. I dismembered him as well.

When there were no vampires left to kill Maria ordered the campfire be larger. Two of the pawns, as I referred to them, grabbed from the pile of firewood and threw it into the blaze. "Get all the pieces," Nettie commanded. We grabbed everything and tossed it in the fire. Maria went into the cabin to look around.

I decided I should follow her; it was a good time to explain who The Volturi was. I walked in, and waited for her to approach me. I knew she would; she was fond of my and refused to ignore me.

"Jasper," she prompted.

"The Volturi," I returned.

"AAA yes, The Volturi; they are vampire royalty," she began. "They set the rules for us all to follow, and when someone doesn't follow the rules, they eliminate them." I must have looked confused because she giggled and continued. "We only have one rule: Keep the Secret." Yup still don't get it "A few years back, some vampires got out of control and created quite a few newborns. Then others created large amounts of newborns. No one was taking the time to be careful of their surroundings, and the humans began to notice us. Like I said, that isn't allowed. The Volturi came overseas and killed the feuding covens."

"Then why are we doing it?" I asked. I didn't understand why we were an exception.

"We are allowed to do it if we keep the secret. We can pretty much do anything if we keep the secret. We took a different approach though; we trained you," she said. "I have big plans for us, Jasper, huge plans.


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

Chapter 5

"Jasper, it is time again. The newborns are reaching their year mark and their strength is fading. Will you take care of it for me?" Maria ran her hair through her long, dark locks.

After the first year, the newborn vampires would begin to lose their immense strength. Vampires, in general, were incredibly strong, but newborns were much stronger. Maria didn't have any use for them after their strength diminished. She was ordering me to destroy them. This was the second time it had to be done since I changed. I was the only lucky survivor from the original twenty-three soldiers she created two years ago.

"Sure," I answered nonchalantly. I didn't mind seeing them go. This batch was particularly annoying. They fought constantly and weren't very good fighters; well, at least not compared to me. At first it bothered me that they were so disposable. Maria told me that was just the way it was. So, of course, I believed it was.

She sighed. "Good, I will be heading out tonight after you are done. Would you like to come with me? I am thirsty." Maria had taken to hunting with me.

"Yes, ma'am, I will be ready to go by sundown." I replied.

I left the room, and went to speak with Nettie. I needed help, and she was willing. If the other newborns knew what was happening, they might attack all at once. I was good, but no one is that good. As it was, I had many scars already riddling my body. The only thing that could pierce vampire skin was vampire teeth. I had a good fifty half moon scars on my arms, neck and torso just in my two years. There was no need to add to them unnecessarily. Nettie would keep the others out while I finished them off one at a time.

There were five vampires, of our thirteen, who had reached their expiration. I finished them off quickly, as always throwing their parts into the fire. This prevented the vampires from reassembling after they were destroyed; gross, I know. I once watched a leg scoot across the floor looking for its foot; that creped me out for a week.

After I was done, I went to Maria to see if she was ready. We left the other eight newborns at the house with Nettie and Lucy. Maria was so pleased with the results at Monterrey, she wanted more. She had managed to spread her territory to most of Texas and the northern part of Mexico. We decided to hunt in San Antonio since there had been some fighting recently. What would have taken a human three days and nights to walk, took us about three hours to run.

As we ran, I could tell there was something wrong. Maria was reserve, her distress emanating off her in waves that could have knocked me off my feet. I stopped just outside the city. Maria continued for a moment before she realized I wasn't with her. She wheeled around and stopped a half mile away from me.

Though she was far away from me I had no problem hearing what she had to say. "What is it Jasper?" she asked sounding very annoyed.

"What's wrong, Maria?" I countered.

"What makes you think something is wrong?" she asked.

"Don't mock me, Maria. I can feel it. What is wrong?"

"They are coming for me. They aren't happy at our success. They want to stop us." Either she was trying to tell me what was wrong, or she was becoming paranoid. I didn't understand any of it. She ran right up to me stopping within an inch from me. She looked up into my eyes. I could feel fear radiating from her now. "Jasper, Mexico City is coming for us. I sent out Juan two days ago to scout and he returned with that. He said George was gathering newborns too." her Spanish accent pronounced the "G's" as an "H". "He was getting a lot of them. They are coming to take Mexico back. Somos condenados, nosotros nos moriremos." _We are doomed, we will die._

"We will fight. We make more newborns; lots of them. Instead of allowing him to take us, we take Mexico City; it's simple." I was already beginning to strategize in my head.

"Ah no, mi hijo, if we do that then The Volturi will take notice. They will be on the next ship over here to kill us all for sure," she said. This was true. The Volturi wouldn't stand for such a big battle. We had already been pushing our luck. "I will think. You go somewhere else to hunt. I would like to be on my own." She waved her hand dismissing me. I nodded and ran east.

An hour and a half later I was in Houston. I slowed to a walk and headed toward town. I came up behind the general store. I wasn't sure what I was doing, just passing time I suppose. I had already fed a week ago and wasn't thirsty. The only reason I was here was because Maria asked me to come along. I looked in the window as I passed. I was sure I would see Sherri and her parents sitting in the room behind the store. Instead I only saw her parents. Strange, maybe she had already gone to bed for the night.

I left the store and walked around, killing more time. I soon lost interest and walked out of town toward my family's farm. As I approached the cabin, I could see smoke coming from the chimney. It would be nice to see my family. I knew I wouldn't be going in there, but I just wanted to see them. They would never know I was there, vampires were very quiet.

I approached the window to the living room slowly. When I looked in, I saw my ma and pa sitting in their rocking chairs in front of the fire. My ma was mending a pair of socks. My pa was smoking his pipe. I could smell the sweet smell of his tobacco, mixed with the left over smell of corn bread. My ma must have made some earlier and the smell still lingered. As a human, corn bread was my absolute favorite thing to eat. I loved the grainy, breaded texture in my mouth. I loved the sweet flavor mixed with the cream from fresh churned butter. Now, the thought of corn bread made my stomach turn.

I wondered why my mother had made corn bread. This was always a special treat. We were poor and sugar wasn't the cheapest thing to come by. Certainly, real butter wasn't feasible either. What could the occasion have been? My parents didn't celebrate their anniversary or their birthday's because it was theirs. There was no need to spend money on something for them. They did celebrate Christmas but it wasn't even winter, much less Christmas. The only other thing my parents celebrated was my brother's and my birthdays. What month was it? June, it was June. My birthday, they were celebrating my birthday. If my heart had still been beating, it would have broken in that very moment. If I could still shed tears, my eyes would have welled even though I wasn't the crying type. Instead, I could only feel pain in my chest and prickling in my eyes.

I spun around and ran as fast as I could. I would never return to see my parents. I couldn't stand the thought of seeing them in so much pain. I couldn't bare the thought that they missed me enough to continue celebrating my birth even though I was sure they thought I was dead. I was dead. To them, I died two years ago, just outside of Houston in the line of duty.

I ran aimlessly for what could have been just a few minutes. I didn't know where I was headed. I wasn't headed anywhere, just away. I stopped and fell to my knees. I buried my face in my hands and sobbed tearless sobs.

After I could regain my composure, I stood up and began walking toward Monterrey. I wouldn't go past my parent's farm. I walked for a few miles when I came upon a home that hadn't been there two years ago when I lived around here. I was instantly curious to see just who lived around here. This was good land and the person who bought it must be wealthy or lucky.

I walked up to the log cabin and peered through the window with the light on. I was shocked when I saw who lived here. My brother was sitting in the rocker close to the hearth. He rocked slowly, staring into the fire. He was seventeen now. Old enough to have his own home but not old enough to be drafted into the war. But how could my parents afford such prime land?

Just then Sherri walked into the room. She was just as pretty as I remembered her. She had a small bundle of cloth in her arms. She walked over to the other chair in the room and sat down carefully. My brother looked up at her when she sat next to him. I felt such an intense wave of love and passion flood through the whole cabin that it penetrated through the walls. They were in love. They were married.

I heard a cry break the silence and glanced over to where Sherri sat. In the bundle she still held in her arms, a tiny hand peaked out and reached up; a baby. I was an uncle. My brother was a father now and he was married to Sherri. This was good. I was happy for him. I was happy for them. Hopefully, the Civil War would be over soon and there would be no need for him to go to war.

I turned away from the cabin, and headed for Monterrey once again. While running, I thought of love. I couldn't get enough of the feeling, and I had only had a hint of it. For just a moment I felt an unconditional love that overwhelmed me. All my human life I had only thought of war. Since I was turned into a vampire, I had felt other's emotions but they were of greed and malice; hate and fear. I had never felt a love so powerful as what I had just felt watching my brother and his new family. I vowed then that I would feel that love one day. I did not know when or with whom but I _would_ love someone that way.


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

Chapter 6

I had settled into my life here with Maria, Nettie and Lucy. I had a job and I was good at it. Nettie and Lucy, however, were growing weary of this life. They despised Maria for being so controlling. I could feel their animosity toward her, whenever they walked in the room where she was. I feared something would come of this, though I kept it to myself. I was prepared just in case.

One day, Maria and I came in from recruiting. "Take this one to the room Nettie," she commanded.

"No, I will not, you do it," she retorted.

"Excuse me? Did I hear you right?" Maria was seething. "You dare disobey me?"

"Since when did you become the leader, Maria? We started this together; all three of us."

"You would be NO WHERE without me. I am the reason we have Texas. I am the reason you can go hunting wherever you want, without fear of trespassing on other's territories. Without me, you two would be nothing. You should be thanking me not disobeying me," she spat.

I could feel their anger build. They had had enough and they were going to do something about it right then. Lucy and Nettie both leapt for Maria in one movement. I was there to protect her. Between Maria and me, we finished them off in front of the newborns. This served as a lesson to them not to try to overturn Maria or me.

The frost came early that year. Being in Mexico, we didn't get much snow but it still got cold. We didn't notice it like humans, though. For us, it simply marked the passing of time. By the time winter set in that year, Mexico City invaded. They took nearly everything we fought so hard for. All our concurred lands were stolen from us just as quickly as we had stolen them from others. It was a horrible war we lived in. It was an ugly time to live, or exist, whatever it was we were doing.

When we were down to possessing only Monterrey, the fighting died off for us. It continued all around us though. Mostly it was vengeance fighting. Because of the war, so many mates were killed. Our kind doesn't forgive such a thing. The living mate would vow vengeance on the coven that killed their spouse. A battle would ensue and someone would win; but someone would also lose.

I was constantly surrounded by anger and hatred. They were the two prominent emotions in my life. There was sometimes sadness and others fear but mostly anger and hate. I was depressed. I must have been sending off my depression because Maria would insist on taking me out to hunt as a way to "cheer me up".

Hunting was probably the most difficult for me. I would hide in the shadows and wait. While waiting I felt a plethora of emotions. Usually excitement and happiness but that lasted only until I walked out of my hiding place. When the humans saw me, their emotions changed. If it were a woman, lust was overwhelming. If it were a man, I would get queasy with their jealousy. But no matter the gender, their emotions were laced with sheer terror. Human instincts told them I was bad news.

As I approached my victim, I could feel their emotions soaring. They were always the same in the end, they didn't want to die. I didn't want to kill them but I had to drink. I had to survive. I hated what I was. I hated that I was killing people. I hated that I was a murderer; a monster.

I confided in Maria about it, but she only laughed. "It is a natural thing, Jasper. It's nothing to feel remorse over. They are merely cattle. We are so much more. We are more powerful; we live longer. They are fragile, weak, diseased creatures whose only purpose is to quench our thirst," she reasoned. I didn't agree. I couldn't agree. We were defiantly the freaks in this world.

Several decades of this passed. I grew more depressed. Maria was bewildered. I decided to go out hunting one night, alone. I told Maria I needed some time by myself. She knew I probably wasn't going to hunt but decided to let me go alone anyway.

When I arrived in town, I wondered the streets. This was one of my only pastimes that kept my depression calmed, if only for the night. I chose my walking paths carefully. I walked away from the saloons, where the drunken, belligerent men harassed lonely whores. I tended to walk near the quiet homes with families sitting down for dinner or by the fire reading a book.

Love was the most powerful emotion. The only one still, that I felt penetrate walls of closed houses. This emotion I longed for was something I could only experience from the feelings of humans. My life was surrounded by war. I respected Maria but definitely didn't LOVE her. I didn't love the few females Maria created, but I couldn't bring myself to make any vampires. So I was alone, but I could always feel the love of these humans; this would be enough.

I got home just before dawn to find the new recruit ready for his explanation. Maria was already in there with him, so I joined her. When I walked in I saw him standing there staring at Maria. The usual emotions accompanied him: confusion, shock, disbelief etc.

"What's your name?" I asked him. I don't know why I did, it never meant much to me before. We would just be killing him in another year anyway.

"Peter." He stated.

"Welcome aboard. Let's get you acquainted with everyone else." We left the room. I let him talk to the others, as I never paid enough attention to them to know them. Like I said, they were just pawns.

Peter was proving to be a good recruit. His fighting skills were amazing and he was very agile; more than the usual vampire. His skills were still not as defined as mine were. Over time we became close friends. He was twenty-three years old, almost as tall as me and had long white-blond hair. He grew up in El Paso. His parents died at a young age leaving him orphaned since he was five. Maria found him traveling south and thought he would be a nice addition to our small, but well organized army.

He fought with us in protecting our territory. He didn't like the fighting but he did it well. He was more civilized than the other newborns. I suppose this is what made him a comfort to talk to. We hunted together sometimes. I still had to hunt with Maria on occasion or she would become jealous. There were still times I claimed to go hunting so I could have my moment of peace. No one knew exactly what I was doing on those trips and I never told anyone.

Peter was reaching his one year mark before I realized the time had passed. "What would you do with him, Jasper?" Maria asked me.

"I don't know. You are the one who makes those decisions," I told her. She was concealing something but I wasn't sure what it was. I didn't know if she was testing me or if she was truly asking my opinion of his skills.

"Well, I am asking for your input," she stated. "I would like to know what you think of his skills."

"I think his skills are strong and his body remains strong even with the newborn strength fading. I mean he still isn't as good as me but who is." I threw in the last part to lighten the conversation. She giggled.

"I think I would like to keep him. He is promising. I also think you need to be relieved of some of your duties with the newborns. I would like you to have a bit of time to yourself. You are always so blue. Give him your job as babysitter and you can be in charge of him. That way you are still numero uno and he can have a lasting career." She was allowing me to keep my friend. I felt kindness from her and was relieved that I wouldn't have to destroy him.

I took him for a walk to explain everything to him. I explained how after a year we destroyed newborns because of their diminishing strength, but he was the exception. I told him what his new duties were and what he would be helping me do in the near future. There were still newborns to destroy and I would have his help from now on.

Time passed. More seasons changed; more war, more destruction, more depression. Peter helped me with my duties while he kept the newborns from killing each other. That alone was a full-time job. Peter needed to assist me once again. We had yet another set of newborns to purge. Peter had helped me plenty with this chore, but for some reason this time he was trying to get me to keep some of them.

"This next one is still very strong. I think we could use him for a while longer," he told me.

"No, newborn strength surpasses his strength easily; he goes," I said. He brought him in and I took care of him, and another.

He came to me with another petition. "I- um… I think we could use Salazar. His fighting skills are very good."

"No, our fighting skills are a hundred times better than his are, just send him in already." He did though he had a horrible look on his face. His emotions were that of concern and fear. I didn't understand why he was having such a hard time with this. He had helped me many times in the past. This was no different. He sent in another two without grievance. But the last one proved to be the real issue.

"Um… Jasper, I… um… I-." I cut him off right there. "Maria said kill them all. None were to survive and that is what we are going to do. Just send her in."

"Jasper I-I… I just…"

"Peter, do you need me to take care of it by myself? Go ahead, leave I g-." he cut me off with his rage. "RUN CHARLOTTE!!!" he yelled. With that he was out the door with her and gone. I didn't know if he was going to come back. How could I not notice how strong their affections were before? I mean, sure I noticed they cared for each other. But when did it become more than that? Ugh, Maria was _not_ going to be happy about this.


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

Chapter 7

I couldn't believe it possible, but the days passed slower than they ever had before. It has been five incredibly long, grueling years since Peter ran away with Charlotte. At first, I thought he would figure out what a horrible decision he had made. Surly, he knew it was too dangerous to be alone in this world without the protection Maria provided. Any day he would come groveling back to Maria. I gave that up after a couple of years of him AWOL.

I thought Maria might have gone after him herself. I felt such rage and betrayal coming of her that I was certain I would find her gone one night looking for them. That was a no-go either. After she found out I let them escape, she was livid with me. She told me I should have run after them and destroyed them both. I just couldn't have ever done something like that. Peter was the closest thing I had to a friend, and I would not be the one to destroy him.

Maria and I weren't doing well either. I suffered from a horrible depression; this seemed to confuse her a bit. I never felt a hint of depression from her. I was finding Maria's emotions all too familiar. I had experienced them before Nettie and Lucy approached us years ago. Sometimes she was afraid of me. Other times she wanted to hurt or even kill me.

I had a horrible feeling that my time with Maria was over. Through the nights while I was in town "hunting", I thought about how I could get out of this situation. I didn't want to die. I didn't want to kill Maria. I felt torn by these two decisions.

A voice from a nearby apartment boomed, "I gotta move out, man. I just can't stay your roommate for ever." If only it were that easy for me. I could just walk up to Maria and tell her I was done being her second in command. I could turn around and walk out the door. She wouldn't let me get one foot off the ground toward the door. She would attack me.

I knew I was still stronger than Maria, even if she had been around longer than me. She probably hadn't taught me everything she knew about fighting but I had picked up a few things she didn't know about either. I could take her. We would fight and I would have to win.

While I mulled this around in my head, I walked down the alley. I was sure I was going to be alone down here. I suddenly felt another emotion; very close. It wasn't coming from inside one of the buildings. It was definitely coming from around the corner. I was closer to that end of the alley than the end I had entered. If it were a human I could be out of the alley before he was sure he had seen me.

If it were a vampire though, I would have to at least be cordial. As human emotions aren't as strong as a vampire's emotions, I could figure it out before I had a chance to see who was around the corner. I relaxed myself and opened up; I allowed whoever was around the corner to "tell" me who they were.

I felt peace, friend, comrade, wanting. No, not wanting; longing, the kind when someone missed someone or something. There was something else; fear? They were very strong. It was a vampire. I didn't know who it was but I knew I would have to wait until I spoke with this vampire. If I left now, I would anger him. It would be bad manners.

I collected myself and called out quietly. Humans didn't need to hear us, so I spoke only loud enough that the vampire would hear me. "Good evening," I said.

He stepped around the corner, still in the shadow though I could see perfectly. "Peter, you've come back? Maria-" He cut me off before I could finish my sentence.

"I'm not here for Maria, I wanted to see you," he told me.

"I've missed you, you know that?" I told him. What, it was true. "It has been so long. Maria really got on me after you left."

"I had to, Jasper. Charlotte, she is… my mate." When he said this he beamed with pride, I could probably have noticed it even if I didn't feel it.

"You two are still together? How did that happen? I was sure you hadn't made it. Maria always reminds me how terrible the world is out there for us."

"Maria was wrong. In fact, I haven't had to fight since I left."

"Ludicrous!" I scoffed. "Everywhere I look there is fighting. I have been all over Texas and nearly all of northern Mexico. There is war in every corner of the world," I said.

"No," He turned his head. "Charlotte, come here." She was still with him? Yup, she stepped around the corner. She must have been the fear I felt. He continued, "Darling, tell him."

"It's true, in the north; further north than Texas. We have been to New York, Ohio and many others. It is wonderful, there are so many things to see, Jasper." She shied away after that, as if she may have said too much.

"No fighting? I can't imagine it. Peter, are we the only ones of our kind?" That must be why they hadn't had to fight.

"Oh no, we come across others from time to time. None in such large covens as ours was. We meet mostly single nomads, but from time to time, we meet up with another couple or maybe even a coven of three." He sounded impressed when he said that. "Jasper, come with us. I know you don't like the fight."

I didn't need to be asked twice. If I left, I wouldn't need to kill Maria. She probably would have killed me if given the chance but she was the only ally I had ever had. I couldn't imagine killing her anymore that I would have been able to kill Peter, even if Peter's and my relationship was on better terms.

"Where to," I asked. I was so excited to be leaving this fighting behind. I would no longer need to kill. This was exactly what I needed.

"Well, where would you like to go? We could go to Montana. The crime rate is moderate so we could blend. Or we could go to Ohio. It isn't too sunny there so we could be out during the day time without notice."

"Out in the day? I don't know…" I had never been out in public during the day. Here in Monterrey, the sun showed the majority of the year. Even on cloudy days, the sun could peek out at any given moment.

"Jasper, don't worry. Let's go," he said.

"Come on, Peter, your move." We were in a hotel waiting the day out. Peter was right; I hadn't fought in a few years. I was nearly elated with this. I still had a feeling of depression though. I couldn't imagine why.

"Check," he said as he moved his bishop on the board. I moved my king. "You know, we need to go out tonight. I'm hungry." He made another move.

I made my move, "check mate," I said. "Let's go." Get this over with. I hated this part.

"Jasper, you know, I have been noticing something. I think when you hunt… well, I have noticed when that you hunt, you get depressed"

"Hum… You think so?" I pondered it for a moment. He was right. I knew I hated feeling them while I was feeding. I was still killing even if it was just humans. I stored away the thought for further analysis.

It was over a century since I was turned. The world had changed so much. I saw the creation of automobiles; that was an exciting invention. I saw television, telephones, and color photography. I hadn't put much stock into these inventions until most recently. I learned many things about living in this new world.

I had a harder time existing. I didn't have a place to stay during the day, so I had to resort to hotels. If things got bad and I didn't have any money, I would have to go out of town to find some other hiding place. When I fed, I took only what I need off the body; money, shoes, clothes. It was a horrible thing to do but I didn't know what else to do. To make up for it, and to help my depression, I tried to feed less often. I found that was a very difficult task.

I left Peter and Charlotte after a few years. I needed to be by myself for a while. I wondered to Philadelphia. I was still experimenting with being out in public during the day. I only went on days where the T.V. weatherman said there would be storms. I was working on "blending". That was also not an easy task. I could only go out when my eyes were dark because having red eyes would be a dead giveaway. That made it dangerous because I was hungry.

I was out walking around one dark, stormy day. I didn't have an umbrella, but I didn't care much. I was just walking. I started to feel as though people were noticing me. This wasn't something humans would do. I looked up to see a couple passing me. I could smell their blood. It was rich and warm. I walked away quickly to lead them to believe I had purpose and to get away from them.

When I was far enough away, I took some big breaths through my nose to clear their scent out. My mind wanted to catch up with them. I was imagining how quick it would be. I would take the woman first, then the husband before he had time to realize what I had done. I took bigger breaths through my nose. My throat burned from the thirst. I forced my mind to think of something different. I thought of the show I watched on T.V. today. It was drag racing. That looked like it could be a lot of fun though I wouldn't want to stop after a quarter mile. I would love to continue.

I was feeling better. I looked around me to see if anyone noticed me. I was alone. I knew I needed to get out of the rain to prevent anyone else from noticing me. I also didn't like being out in the open during the day; it felt wrong. I decided to go into the local mom and pop diner. It only had a handful of people so I might be ok. I wasn't sure though, so I took a deep breath and held it. I could heave my shoulders a bit to make it look like I was breathing, and if I didn't talk too much I might be able to pull this off.

I walked in, fully planning on going to the corner to sit by myself. As always, I noted what all I saw in the room. There were two men sitting opposite each other at one booth in the far corner. I saw a waitress walking away from them. The cook was behind the window putting a plate on the counter. That was when I saw her.

There was a vampire sitting on a stool at the counter; her back to me. There was a glass of clear liquid in front of her though she wasn't drinking. She had short, dark hair and tiny stature. I stood there staring at her for a moment. She turned around as if she were expecting to see me there. Her face was beyond beautiful. Her eyes were dark too, hungry. She had full red lips that turned up as soon as she spotted me.

She hopped off the bar stool. I was shocked thinking she might try to attack me. It was unlikely, but I suppose it was possible. She danced over to me. Well, she didn't really dance but she walked so light it was as if she were dancing. She stopped just in front of me, looked up and her smile widened.

Her emotions were amazing. I hadn't felt anything like it before. There was excited, happy, adventurous, calm, confident, determined, optimistic and loving. It felt like the sunshine. More than that, the feelings I got from her had me flying.

"You've kept me waiting a long time," she said.


	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

Chapter 8

"_You've kept me waiting a long time," she said._

She seemed convinced that she had been expecting me all this time. She had a plethora of emotion, one of which (a strong one) was confidence. I was baffled. I had never met her before; _that_ I would have remembered. Her beauty far surpassed any I had ever put my eyes on.

I nodded my head, "I'm sorry, ma'am." I said. I wasn't sure why I was sorry to have kept her waiting, but I was. If I had known to have met her earlier, I would have. Her emotions flooded me, masking my own; leaving me with a feeling of hope. Hope that I could someday be happy. Someday very soon, I was sure.

She raised her hand, offering me to take it. My hand went up without my permission, into hers. Not that I minded that one bit. She walked over to a booth in the corner of the diner I had originally planned on sitting at. I waited for her to take her seat before I slid in next to her. By this time I couldn't imagine being as far as across the booth. Her bubbly feelings had me clinging to her, wanting to be closer and closer.

She looked at me, not surprised one bit by my closeness. She actually seemed fascinated that I was sitting with her in her booth. Her smile lingered as she introduced herself. "I'm Alice."

"I'm-," but before I could continue she cut me off. "Jasper, I know," she said. The shock must have registered all over my face because she giggled at me. What a giggle it was too. She sounded like church bells in the distance. Her eyes, though still dark, twinkled with delight.

Of course, I was completely confused. I already knew I didn't know her but how could she have known me. "Have we met?"

"No, but I know who you are."

"How do you know me?"

She still hadn't stopped smiling, not even for a moment. Her happiness radiated off her and I couldn't get enough. "I have a gift. I can see things. I am not sure how I do or what they mean, but I saw you. I knew you were going to be here. I actually was beginning to wonder about that though."

At that point I didn't care if she told me she was one of the Volturi's wives; I knew I had to be near this strange little pixie. What ever this gift she was speaking of was, I knew that, if it would allow us to be near in some fashion, then that was where I was going to be. She grew more excited at that moment.

"Oh good, I was hoping you wouldn't mind," she said to me.

Did I just say something out loud? "D-" I began.

"No, I just know things. I think I can see what is going to happen; like seeing the future. I'm not sure if that's it because I just woke up about a week ago and I was like this," she said waving her hand at herself as to demonstrate. That sent my eyes to wondering again. Her fingers were slender as she waved at her torso. Her body was… WOW!

"Stop that your going to make me blush," she said as she gently nudged my hand that was resting on the table in front of us. I had my other arm around the back of the booth draped behind her. Her hair tickled my arm as she giggled again. It was soft and fine.

The waitress came over to us, "Can I get you something to drink?" I smelled her blood, but I wasn't sure I need it at the moment. I knew I had just struggled, not more that ten minutes ago out in the rain. I very possibly could have attacked that couple, but here in the diner with Alice, I felt like I could hold off.

"Water, please," I said not bothering to look at her. If we didn't do something they might ask us to leave. "Water," Alice agreed, and the waitress left.

"Tell me, you said you saw me. What did you see?"

"It was my first – vision – if you will. I woke up like this a week ago and was scared. I don't have any memories of before but I knew I had to get up and do something. As soon as I stood up, I had this kind of double vision. I saw what was in front of me but I also saw a door. The door opened and this tall, dark and handsome man walked in." She began rubbing my hand. "And here you are, sitting here with me now.

I grinned. She seemed to have a genuine affection for me. I definitely had feelings for her, undefined as they were. "So, you saw me and just came here on the off chance you might find me?"

"Pretty much, I had to do something and you are so handsome."

I had to chuckle at that. "Now you're going to make me blush." I knew we couldn't but the feeling of embarrassment was still there. "I am glad you did come find me. So, when was the last time you fed?" I asked. Her eyes were too dark for her to have fed a week ago.

"Oh, I won't feed. I saw it," she told me. The waitress returned with our water. "Are you two ready to order?"

"Oh we just needed the water," Alice chimed in. The waitress nodded and walked away.

"What do you mean you won't feed? We all have to feed. It's how we survive." I was puzzled.

"There are other options, Jasper. I saw this family north east of here, in Cambridge. I would like to go meet them."

"Tell me about them," I just had to keep her talking.

"I knew you would say that. Oh, okay. There are five of them. Carlisle and Esme are the "parents". Then there is Emmett and Rosalie. Then there is Edward, he's alone. Carlisle is a doctor for humans."

"Wait, he is a doctor? That means he is around blood. How does he not get exposed?"

"Oh, he is very conflicted against drinking traditionally. He's the one who found the other option. Then there is Esme. She is so kind and loving. You will enjoy being around her, nothing but positive emotions."

"I didn't say anything about that." How could she know about that? That wasn't something she could see in a vision, was it?

Remorse, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I just meant that she would be a comfort to be around. Please forgive me, Jasper."

"It's okay; I just didn't realize you would know about that; how about Emmett and Rosalie?" She was a newborn, very easily distracted. And I really wasn't mad, just surprised.

"Emmett seems to be all brawn, no brain. Rosalie is… well she is good with cars. Then there is Edward. He can read minds and he plays the piano." She sounded very impressed, though I didn't know if it were in regard to the mind reading or playing the piano. "It will be so nice to have others of us around, don't you think?"

"I have been with another coven for a while. It wasn't the best experience."

"Oh, is that how you got your scars?" Forward, isn't she?

"Yeah, it is. So what is this other option?" changing the subject.

"Well, it's animals. They aren't good but it works. I had my one that first night; a raccoon." She scrunched up her nose. "When can we go meet them?"

"As soon as you want to, we can leave." I didn't see any reason to delay getting this beautiful pixie where she wanted to go. Her face lit up more (if that were at all possible), so I slid out of the seat and offered my hand. She placed hers in mine and bounced up. I must not have moved back far enough, because she came right up against me. For a moment, her body was flush against mine. It felt so right.

I stepped back unwillingly, but kept her hand. She glanced down, and with her free hand, tucked her hair behind her ear. A feeling of embarrassment came off her. I led her to the door, enjoying the feel of her hand in mine. I opened the door and waited for her to exit. We walked for a moment under the cover of the awnings until there were no more.

I didn't want her to get wet, so I glanced around for something to protect her. I couldn't find anything so I shook off my jacket and handed it to her. It was still damp from earlier, but it would be better than to have her get her hair wet. I watched her put it over her head then look up at me. We stepped out into the rain walking slowly.

I kept steeling glances in my periphery. She was unbelievably lovely. I had a strong desire to kiss her, and the desire was growing more and more each moment we spent together. I remember this desire vaguely from my human years, but this was a thousand times stronger. I felt that if I didn't kiss her, I could likely burst into flames here in the rain. I looked down at her to meet her face to face, only to find her eyes distant and glazed over.

Was she okay? Had I done something to upset her? Then her eyes focused on me, she took a small step closer, reached up on her toes and put her lips hard on mine. It lasted only a moment before I felt a rush of embarrassment flood her, and she pulled back. I wasn't done with the kiss yet.

My hand cupped her cheek and I bent over. My lips found her full, red lips. They were soft as silk. I slid my tongue across her lips, tasting the sweetness of vanilla and cinnamon. Her lips parted, allowing me entrance into her. Our tongues gently massaged each other. She reached both her arms up around my neck. My hands found her waist and pulled her into me. As the rain fell upon us, we stood there, kissing. Finally, I was happy. Here in Alice's arms I was happy.


	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer. I also do not own "The Munsters", "I Dream of Jeannie", "Gilligans Island", "The Andy Griffith Show", "Bewitched", or "Mr. Ed"**

**Chapter 9**

What a kiss! She pulled back a bit and gazed up into my eyes. She smiled the most beautiful smile I had ever seen.

"Wow." She said.

"Wow." I agreed. I hadn't had many kisses in my hundred years but I am certain that even if I did, that one would have been off the charts. I felt things stirring in me that I don't think I had ever felt before. "So, are we going?"

"Where," she asked lazily. Her eyes were still dreamily looking into mine.

"That family you were telling me about; the ones you saw in your vision."

She shook her head to snap out of a trance. "Oh, yeah, we can." She looked down at herself then. "Oh, no, we can't show up dressed like this." Alice said.

"What do you mean? What is wrong with the way we are dressed?" I replied. I thought she looked beautiful the way she was.

"Well, nothing, I guess. It's just that I don't really want to show up at them wearing a holey T-shirt and ratty jeans. You could use some new pants too. We will need some money. Hum…" she thought.

"Well, if it's money we need, I can take care of that." I had been too thirsty, anyway.

Again, Alice's face went flat and her eyes glazed over. She seemed lost for a moment immediately followed by a horrified face. I felt a wave of tension flood through me and I braced myself for whatever was about to happen. Alice must be having another premonition. It had to be bad with the extremity of the emotion I was feeling.

"Oh no, Jasper, we can get the money some other way. We don't have to kill someone to do it. Please, say we can try something else, anything else." Her eyes were pleading and she was gripping my arms. "I know that is the way you have always come across money but I just don't feel comfortable killing someone and taking their money."

"I don't understand. What did you see?"

"I saw… Well, it doesn't matter what I saw, we have to try something different," she said.

"Please tell me what you saw."

"I saw you, Jasper." Her face contorted as if she were welling with tears. "I saw you feeding on someone and robbing them. We can't do that; we just can't."

"Well, if we don't, then how would you suggest we get the money?" I wasn't trying to be curt with her, but I had always done this and I was also very careful to dispose of the body. We wouldn't get caught. Is that what she was afraid of?

"I don't really know. I have to think about it. Do you have a place," she asked.

"Yes, I have a hotel just a couple of blocks away. I only have it for one more night then I have to pay more or get out, but there is a TV there and it will get us out of the rain."

"Ok, then let's go," she agreed.

We walked to the hotel in silence. I held her hand for fear that she might disappear. She made me so happy and I didn't want to loose her. All this time I had been feeling the happiness of others, thinking it was such a strong emotion when I was near it and feeling it from the people around me. I never imagined the actual experience would be more profound.

But, wait, it wasn't happiness I had been feeling when I went on my frequent trips to the city; it was love. I couldn't be feeling love, could I? I had only met her not more than a half hour ago. I certainly didn't believe in "love at first sight", but what else could explain the feeling I had now. It definitely felt the same as those people in town. Love; could it be? I glanced down at her frequently, and I caught her steeling glimpses of me as well. When she noticed I was looking, she smiled brightly.

We finally got to the hotel. I pulled out my key and opened the door. I walked over to the small lamp on the side table. It was a drab place. Wood paneled walls and burnt orange shag carpets. The window was covered with blackout drapes with large yellow, brown and orange flowers on a field of off-white. The bed was covered with a blanket that matched the ugly drapes. There was a small round table with two chairs upholstered in lime green. But there was a TV, a large console TV that sat across the bed. We could watch "The Munsters" or "I dream of Jeannie". Maybe we could see if Gilligan gets off the island tonight.

She walked in behind me, wide starry eyes soaking in the room. She looked at everything slowly, her gaze ending on the bed. A huge look of uncertainty came across her face. I felt a wave of tension then she looked at me.

"Oh, no, don't worry about that." I told her. "We don't have to do anything," Calm. Good. "We could watch some TV till we think of something to get the money." I suggested.

"That would be nice. I have never seen a "TV". How does it work?"

She's never seen a TV before. That's unusual. "Well, you turn this dial, here, like this." I demonstrated. "Then you find something to watch." She was now staring at the glowing box as if it were magic.

"Amazing; what's on?"

I turned the dial until I found "The Andy Griffith Show". I turned to her "This isn't bad."

I pulled up the two chairs, (we weren't going to sit on the bed if she weren't going to be comfortable) positioned them in front of the TV and gestured to her to sit. She took a seat and looked up at me as if she were waiting for me to join her. I grinned and sat down just as the familiar whistling began.

We watched the show in silence and waited to see what would come on next. A few commercial's came on: one for a foot cream, one for a toothpaste and one for a local car dealership. The foot cream commercial was as disgusting as they come. The toothpaste commercial had a catchy jingle. The dealership commercial ended with confident words saying "Don't gamble your money away when you can get a guaranteed thing here."

A light went on in my head right then. There was this little place Peter took me to last year while I was still with them. It wasn't too far from here. Of course, gambling was illegal but the laws didn't seem to particularly pertain to us. I bet we could get the money that way. It's always a risk but I wasn't too bad at feeling the tension around me and was able to play on that in poker. I reached into my pockets pulled out some money and counted it. Twenty dollars, that would take care of the cover charge and get us started.

"Alice, what do you think of gambling? I know of this place that if we run the whole way we could get there in about an hour."

She pondered that for a bit. "Gambling, that is where you bet your money on games, right?"

"Yes, I have enough to get in and get started but just barely."

"That could work. I'm sure it will work. But could we just watch a little more TV first?" Her pleading eyes looked so cute I couldn't refuse.

We sat through the news and a couple of episodes of Mr. Ed. Pfft. A horse that talks, that's preposterous; but Alice was intrigued. She wanted to watch "Bewitched" and "I dream of Jeannie". I sat there gladly pretending to watch the shows. Really, I was watching her in my periphery. She seemed so amused with the lives of these people. Her eyes started at the sight of Jeannie wrapping both her arms around Major Nelson and planting a huge kiss on him. I saw the corner of her lips twitch as if to smile then regained composure.

After watching for a while longer, Alice got up from her chair, bent over and turned off the TV. She stood staring at the blank screen for a moment. I took a moment to take in her profile. God, she was beautiful. She turned around slowly to face me, almost as if to give me a moment to appreciate the view completely. Believe me I was appreciating it.

"Ok, I have been thinking," she began. "I think I might be able to use my visions to help us. I mean I'm not sure how to work it but I think I could try. Do you have some cards or something?"

"I have some dice; we could throw them and maybe you could see them." I went over to the bag I had lying in the corner. I didn't have much but I liked to keep a few things with me: my chess set, a change of clothes (not in much better shape), the dice and a couple other things I have scavenged. I put the chairs back to the table to open the floor for throwing the dice. I sat down and Alice sat four feet across from me. I threw the first round.

Before the dice finished rolling, Alice said "a five and a two." The dice rolled to a stop landing first on the five and the second on the two. Hum… that was easy. I reached for the dice, and so did Alice. Our hands touched for only a moment before Alice smiled and pulled her hand back.

"Ok try to see them now." I said holding the dice in my hands.

"I don't see anything."

"Ok, let's try just seeing them when I throw them," and I lifted my hand to throw them. Alice called off "six and one." The dice left my hand rolled across the floor landing on a six and one.

"Interesting, ok lets try something else." I said. I lifted my hand to throw them but I didn't _actually_ throw them. My hand stopped and I looked up at Alice; "nothing?"

"Nope, I didn't see a thing," she replied.

"I wonder why that is. Maybe it has to be decided to be done before you can see what will happen."

"That sounds logical," she said. "Ok decide to do something and let's see if I can see what it is."

Hum, this could be fun. What could I do? HA!! I got it.

I looked up at Alice and leaned only a fraction toward her. She already had a grin on her face from ear to ear. She leaned forward and kissed me. "That's it, you have to decide to do it." She saw it, that's good; I can decide to do that again. I leaned forward again, cupping her face in my hand and pressed my lips to hers again. I slid my tongue between her parted lips. With my free hand I pulled her into me. I ran my hand through her soft hair. I could easily continue. I felt so complete being so near her.

Alice pulled back, a move not easy for either of us.


	10. Chapter 10

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Chapter 10**

We arrived at the back door to a run-down building. I knocked twice fast, twice slow. The door opened and a face poked out. He looked at me questioningly, and after a moment he said. "It's five dollars." _To get in_ is what he meant to finish.

I handed him the money and we were in. Alice's eyes sparkled for only a moment before she composed herself. I handed her some money and we walked over to the card tables. "Let's start with '21'."

Alice sat down at the table. She looked very confident and I felt so proud to be here with her. The dealer dealt the cards to the four players; Alice, an old lady with silvery white curly hair, a middle aged woman with a tie dyed shirt and beads, and a cocky looking man in his mid-twenties.

The bets were placed. Alice didn't even look at her cards before placing her bet. She put the whole ten dollars I had just handed her down. It must be a good bet. I looked down to find a six of clubs face up.

"Hit", "Hit", and "Hit" everyone was hitting. When it was Alice's turn, she only "Hit" once; a nine. They turned over their cards. The cocky man got 19. The hippie woman got a 18. The little old lady turned over her card to reveal 19. Alice turned her card over and showed her 20. The dealer had 19. Alice won the game.

It continued that way for a while. Alice was smart enough to loose a couple in between to keep the suspicion off her. The old woman got up shortly after we arrived. The hippie hung around for a while but, she too, cut her losses. It got down to the cocky man and Alice playing the game. Alice was up, he was down.

He didn't seem to realize he should have cut his losses ten hands ago. He kept hanging around as if playing into the hole was going to help him gain his money back. I had been standing back a bit but I decided it was time to be closer to Alice. That was when I felt the real reason he had been staying. I felt the lust wafting from his direction. He kept looking at Alice all night, but I figured it was because of the game. Now I knew better.

I stood there staring at him, daring him to glance up at me; to notice I was there. Alice was mine not his and he needed to know that. Finally, he glanced up at me. I know I looked angry. I could feel it on my face as well as in my body. He just looked at me as if he didn't think I could hurt him. Stupid human; he was so wrong about that. I hadn't hunted yet and was still very thirsty. He would take care of that.

Alice finished her hand and cashed in. She stood up, faced me and looked at me until I looked at her. I saw her face then. She knew what I had been deciding to do. Her expressions were clear. She didn't want me to take care of the _human! _How could I not take care of him? I was thirsty, he was pissing me off; end of story, right?

WRONG! The look on Alice's face was calm but demanding. She would not have this. She took my hand and I knew I wouldn't drain that cocky bastard. Instead I walked over to him, Alice in tow. By this time he stood up, primed to fight.

"I know what you want. I know what you think you will get, but you won't. She is with me and you will stay away from her." I felt the rage of the man. He was weak and his rage unstable. He wanted to hit me; I could feel it. I didn't mind, let him try. It would just break his hand and that would make me very happy. But it would make Alice unhappy. I would not make Alice unhappy. I turned to walk away.

With all my senses like a live wire, I had to be extra careful to not breathe. If I smelled any human blood right now, there would be no stopping the monster inside me, and I didn't want to disappoint her. I walked away with Alice following me. I might have walked a little too fast but I should be gone right now.

"Ok, you can stop this right now Jasper." She said and dug her heels into the ground. I turned around and looked down at her. As soon as I saw her, everything inside of me came slamming to a halt. I no longer felt angry. I could manage to be here with her in this moment and I was ok. I stared into her dark eyes for the longest time. I felt her grab my other hand and just hold them. It wasn't a huge display of affection but it was good for us. I knew that.

"I'm sorry about that; I know I probably embarrassed you."

"Jasper Whitlock, how could you say that? You can know exactly how I feel you just need to reach for it," and I did. I let my senses reach out to her and zone in on her alone. Pride, she was proud of me. But what was she proud about?

"You walked away. You were strong enough to ignore everything and walk away. Of course I'm proud of you. Believe me; it could have been MUCH worse. But it wasn't because you choose to walk away."

I flinched. She was right, I would have snapped and killed him right there. That wouldn't have been good for the "keep the secret" rule the Volturi insisted on. I would have probably killed everyone in the whole building to keep Alice safe from their wrath.

"So, what do you say about showing me your skills in action? I would love to see how well it goes outside of my head," she said. She was right. I had an excellent poker face and a built in lie detector. I was very good at poker.

We walked over to the poker table and I was dealt in. "Five card stud" was the game; a very basic game but one I could win at regardless. I sat with only three other people but already I could feel the tension rising. My presence tends to do that. Alice stood behind me and put her hand on my shoulder. I turned my head to kiss her knuckles.

I waited to pick up my cards for just a moment. I wanted to sample the other emotions around me so I was prepared when I picked up mine. The dealer was bored, big surprise. Two of the people next to me felt disappointment. The third person felt mild excitement. I picked up my cards. Ah, this was a good hand. I could replace two cards and still be well within a winning status.

Cards were discarded and new ones were dealt. Again, I waited before picking them up. Mild excitement man became very excited. I glanced over to him to see his face, not that I needed to just that I wanted to see who he was. UGH! It was Cocky. I thought I got away from him. Well, that could make the game more fun. Beating him and taking what little money he had left could be almost as rewarding as killing him for lusting after Alice. I picked up my cards. Nice, I wouldn't even have to bluff this one.

I met the bet and concentrated on the surrounding emotions. Boredom, disappointment and excitement were radiating, this was going to be too easy. I raised the pool. Everyone met the raise. When I looked around I saw one of the disappointed ones looking very calm. No twitching or sweating, no shifty eyes no grimaces coming from him; very good bluff. Cocky was calm on the very outer face but just under that façade, you could tell he had excitement on his face. Normal people might not even need a power like mine to figure him out. The other disappointed one threw in his hand.

The round was called, followed by the turning over of the cards one player at a time. The cocky one threw out his three Jacks. The bluffer flipped over two twos. I turned over my full house and grinned at the nearly inaudible gasps from the other two players. Alice squeezed my shoulder and I looked up at her to see a satisfied look on her face, then I gathered my winnings from that round and prepared for the next hand.

The rest of the evening was pretty much the same. Cocky left after one more hand against me. I guess he realized it wouldn't be smart to hang around after all. I of course threw a couple of hands here and there; when ever I felt the tension rising too high.

"Would you like to go play a couple of the slots?" I asked Alice. I wonder how she could use her visions for this; or could she? She beamed at me and dragged me toward the slots. She stood there for just a moment with the blank expression I was growing fond of. "Come on," she said with a cute smirk.

She walked knowingly toward a slot machine in the farthest corner and sat down. She threw in a quarter and pulled the leaver. The wheels spun and the fruit slowly landed; cherry, cherry and cherry. The coins started flowing. Alice looked up and giggled at me for only a moment before the blank face returned. This time it only lasted a fraction of a moment before she regained her composure.

"Well, darn! I guess that was the end of the night after all," she said.

"Why what's wrong?"

Then a man walked up behind me and said "Excuse me, I hope you two have enjoyed your stay tonight."

Alice chimed in, "Why, yes we have thank you."

He looked at me with a serious face. "Good, I'm glad but I'm afraid my boss would like me to convey his requests for your night to be concluded here."

"And who is your boss? Perhaps I have heard of him." I said to the messenger.

"Binks, Mr. B. Binks," he replied.

"I would like to speak to Mr. Binks. Would you mind relaying the message?"

I wasn't quite sure I knew what I was going to say to him just that I thought I should smooth things over before we left. I mean, we did just win a lot of what would have been his money.

"Of course, while I am speaking to Mr. Binks, you can cash out right over there," he said to make sure it was known we were still finished playing here tonight.

Alice was looking inquisitively at me. I put my hand in the small of her back to guide her in the direction the messenger boy directed us. We cashed out rather quickly. The cashier counted out our money to us. We won over $1000 just in the past four hours since we arrived. No wonder Binks was asking us to leave.

Messenger boy returned, "Right this way please."

We walked behind him to the back of the building, past all the tables and gamblers. We walked through a small, nearly inconspicuous door, partly hidden behind a fake in door plant, down a long bland hallway, and arrived at a single unoffending door. Messenger boy knocked then held his hands together in front of him with his feet slightly apart.

"Come in" a voice yelled.

He opened the door and we walked into an office lit by only one small lamp. Behind a large desk was an enormous chair that was cocked slightly back facing diagonally away from us. The chair swung around revealing a 30 something man wearing a suit and smoking a cigar. He stood up with his hand out reached.

"Good evening, I'm Bailey Binks. May I help you?"


	11. Chapter 11

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own Spartan Atlantics or Macy's either.**

**Chapter 11**

We walked out into the night. "Well that was interesting," I said.

"Um… It was?"

"Well, sure. He could be a very good connection. I don't think we will need it, but if we ever do, it is nice to know he is around." Binks was a man of many professions; all illegal, some very convenient.

"If you say so. So, what are we going to do now that we have the money?" Alice beamed.

"Well, there are a few department stores, or we could try some of those small shops. I suppose it don't matter much. What would you like to do?"

"Well, I think maybe we should try going to one of them to see what they are like."

"Don't you know where you like to shop," I questioned.

"Not really. I don't remember shopping. What is it like?"

"You don't remember shopping? Is there anything you do remember," I asked.

"I told you already. I remember waking up and having a vision of you and a vision of that family I told you about. Before that everything is just… I don't know, black. That is it, there is nothing else," she said.

"You don't remember anything from before? I don't remember much, but I still have a few flashes. I remember my family and stuff. Don't you remember who turned you?"

She looked down and turned away. Her shoulders heaved and she made some strange noises. I couldn't be sure but it sounded as if she were crying. Of course, vampires can't cry; at least not tears anyway.

I put my hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

She turned around; sure enough she was dry sobbing. She plunged her face into my chest and wrapped her arms around me. I stood there with my arms out a bit, looking down at her sobbing into my shirt. _Now, what am I supposed to do?_ I didn't know how to comfort this woman though I desperately wanted to. In all my 117 years, I have never been good with the women. I searched my memory to see if there was anything in my experiences that would help with this situation.

I remembered my pa wrapping his arms around my ma when my grandma passed away. We were standing at the funeral and she suddenly began weeping and my pa put both arms around her and pulled her close. I mimicked that action with Alice. I felt her squeeze her arms tighter around me and realized that was the correct action.

After she cried it out, she looked up at me and I could tell this was going to be a touchy subject with her; one that we would have to work on slowly though. "Are you alright," I asked her.

She nodded and gave a half hearted smile to me. "I'll be ok. We should get going." She turned and began walking at a human pace toward the local town. It was a grim sort of day; the kind of day that we could be out and about without anyone seeing our… differences.

We got to the local department store; Spartan Atlantics. I walked in with Alice thinking this would be an interesting event. We followed a sign that said "WOMENS". When we got there, Alice took one look around and did this thing with her nose. Her face looked sort of… disgusted. OH THANK GOD!!! She was going to hate shopping, phew. I heard that it was a women's favorite pass time.

"I don't see anything good enough. We have to go somewhere else." She said with such conviction.

"But we just got here and you have just started looking around. You haven't even given it a fair shake."

"No, trust me; these things are not what I'm looking for. Now, come on, I saw another place just around the corner." With that, she turned and left, almost not bothering to go at a human pace. I followed her; what else was I going to do?

We arrived at the next store, a place called "Macy's". Well this would be interesting. Alice walked in; chin up looking very confident. She walked strait over to the woman's section without any guidance (there was no signs to lead you here). Alice looked at a few racks moving clothes this way and that. "Much better, see Jasper, I told you I would know what I was looking for."

"But these clothes look the same as the clothes at the other store," I said.

She looked appalled, "I may not remember anything, Jasper. But I know what I like and this isn't the same as the other store." And with that, she was plucking clothes off the racks and draping them on my arm. My arm was filled and I was certain Alice was done looking when she tugged me toward what looked like a dressing room.

She stopped before we got there though. "Here, hold out your other arm," she said and continued pilling clothes in my arms. When my arms were filled to the brim, she finally dragged me to the dressing room. I waited outside for what seemed like hours though the clock told me it was only thirty minutes. Gosh, what was she doing in there?

Finally, she came out with a very satisfied look on her face and her arms as full as when she went in. "I got what I needed." Good, we must be done. "Now, it's your turn." Oh darn. Well at least I would be quicker. I didn't even have to try on the clothes. Just a couple pairs of jeans and a few T-shirts, maybe a flannel or two and I would be fine. I walked to what looked like the right direction. "Where are you going," Alice chimed in.

"To the men's area," I replied.

"The men's area is over there," she said while she pointed to the opposite direction of the way I was headed.

I turned around and walked with her. When we got closer, Alice handed me her pile of clothes. She immediately began rummaging through the racks. "Um, it's ok, I can choose my own clothes," I told her.

"And, what were you going to choose?"

I told her and she laughed a high melodious laugh. "That is why you are holding clothes and I am choosing them."

"What is wrong with the clothes I wear? My clothes are practical and comfortable. They last a long time and can last through a lot of travel."

"But we aren't going to be traveling. We are going to Cambridge and we are going to stay there with the family I told you about." She continued with the clothes until my arms were so full I almost couldn't see over the top. She actually had to lead me to the dressing room. I put her pile down on the chair next to her and took mine into the little room.

I rummaged through the pile looking for something that I could try on and not feel too… uncomfortable. I found the oddest clothes and nothing like the clothes I was used to wearing. I didn't know what to do. On one hand I couldn't stand the idea of wearing these clothes. On the other hand, I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

I sucked it up and began with the first thing on the pile. A polyester, long sleeved shirt and some slacks. I slowly turned to look in the mirror; afraid of what I would see. I kept my gaze down until I was completely facing the mirror. Slowly, I began to look up. Man, I wasn't going to like this. Hum… the pants weren't too bad. They seemed to fit my legs well enough. The shirt, which I had hastily tucked in to the pants, was a good color against my pale skin. The pattern wasn't too loud. The cloth was easy enough to move in; not bad.

I tried on the rest of the clothes in the pile in much the same manner; skeptical at first but after it was on, accepting. It seemed Alice has a gift for this. I changed back into my clothes and walked out to meet up with her. I approached her to find her eyes glazed over again but before I could reach her she came out of it and smiled a huge smile.

"I knew you would like them." She bounced out of her seat and clasped her hands together. "Ok just a few more items. We'll need a suitcase or two, some undergarments, socks, new shoes; because these shoes," she said pointing to my shoes, "are history."

_Oh, goodness! What have I gotten my self into?_ I was floored by the "take charge and shop" attitude that suddenly came over her. It was a good thing we won all that money. By the time we left Macy's, Alice managed to spend a good four hundred of our winnings.

"Hum, we need a car. Jazz, how much do we have left?" _Did she just call me "Jazz"??? No one __has ever called me Jazz before. I think I like it though. I think I like a lot of things she does; maybe even love it. No, couldn't be. I'm not one to believe in love at first sight. Am I? _I fumbled through my wallet.

"Six twenty five" I told her.

"Well, it isn't much to work with. We can rent something or take a bus."

"Why would we waste our money on transportation? We have all the means to get there on our own," I said pointing down to our feet.

"I don't know about you Jasper, but I don't want to carry the suitcases and run in my new shoes. I certainly don't want to arrive looking like we have been drug through a dustbowl." She is so cute when she gets authoritative.

I gave in. "I suppose we could buy a bus ticket, unless you know how to drive. I've never had the opportunity to learn how to drive. We always ran."

"Thank you," she said as she stood on her toes to kiss my cheek.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

******I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

**A. N. We decided not to waste too much time on coming up with alias last names for them so we are using the names from the actors themselves. Please forgive our un-original-ness. The credit for the names goes to those actors who we borrowed them from.**

**SORRY!!! I'm an airhead sometimes. Here is the real ch 12**

The taxi ride from the bus station to the address in the phonebook was a bit of a ride. Alice had a vision on the train; a valuable detail that we had, up until that moment, overlooked. Alice saw a phonebook with a name and address: Carlisle Reaser – 105 Tidewater Dr.

We hadn't even thought of how we were going to find the family. Alice didn't know a last name or an address or anything. Fortunately, we were able to get that tidbit of information before we realized we didn't have it.

The house was on the outskirts of the city. The driver pulled up to a driveway and parked along the curb. "This is as far as I can go. The driveway is too uneven. I will never be able to get all the way up there much less back out."

"That's fine, how much is the meter?" I asked, all the while keeping my red eyes down. Alice says the feeding on animals would change my eyes. It must be a slow effect because they were still as red as ever. I wonder what they would change to; maybe the blue of my human years.

"Twenty-eight fifty,"

I handed the money to the driver as Alice got out of the car. I went around back to the trunk and got our luggage. Alice looked up the driveway with a grin on her face. There was anxiety in her face as well in her temperament. She started toward the house and I walked beside her.

The driveway was long. When we finally got to the house, it seemed as if it were being restored. The shutters were off the house on the side of the fence. The front steps had some newly replaced boards and the house had been scraped and was ready to be painted. Alice walked up the steps and knocked on the door before I had an opportunity to ask if this was really the right place.

A man opened the door; tall, blond and very pale. He was definitely a vampire. His eyes were unusual though. Instead of the usual red or black that our kind is plagued with, his were the color of butterscotch. "Hello-" he started.

"Hi, we've been very anxious to meet you. Where is everyone else? I should like to meet them too."

"Excuse me? I don't understand. Do we know you?" By this time I had arrived to the door and stood behind Alice.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I got ahead of myself. I'm Alice and this is Jasper," she said gesturing to me. "Hum… How do I explain this?" Before I knew it Alice had explained our way into the house and was discussing our extended stay with the family. I had no idea how she pulled it off, but somehow the woman named Esme was now offering to show us the house.

"Oh, what a lovely view; I think we need the room at the end of the hall upstairs," Alice suggested. Did she have another vision? I didn't see.

Carlisle stifled a laugh, "That room belongs to my son, Edward. He won't be extremely happy about that."

"Don't worry about him. I will be able to explain it to him to where he will understand." She grinned very confidently.

Esme took us on a tour of the house. I was right about the renovations. Esme told us she had been working on it for a week. Seems she got tired of a few things being the way they were and decided to remodel and repair.

Alice was right about the room. It had a beautiful view. I didn't think she would be able to talk her way into actually getting it though. But it seemed Alice had a way about her. She had her way talked into the room and the items inside, being moved to the garage.

"You're sure you will take the brunt of this? I don't want to be the one to deal with Edward when he gets home," Carlisle said. He was obviously thinking the same thing I was. Just imagine a vampire coming home to his belongings moved out of his own room, only to find a stranger now residing in it. I shuddered.

Alice and I were getting to know two of our new companions, Esme and Carlisle, when a car drove up in the driveway. Carlisle beamed and turned toward the door. "Speaking of our family, here come our two boys: Emmett and Edward."

Two men/vampires walked in the door just then. Carlisle walked to them and embraced them in a hug. "Welcome home boys."

The taller one looked at us, "company?" he questioned.

"Uh, well not exactly. Come meet Alice and Jasper." Carlisle told them waving his arm as if to display us.

Alice reached for my hand and I looked at her. Again, her eyes were glazed over and she stared without seeing.

"What the heck is that?!?!" the shorter one asked. He seemed to be in the same trance Alice was in, only a bit different.

Alice came out of her vision and grinned. "You must be Edward, nice to meet you."

"W-What happened?" he asked with a strange look on his face. His emotions were mixed fear, awe, and curiosity.

"What did you hear son?" Esme questioned.

"I didn't 'hear' anything. I saw something. I saw you-" he pointed to Alice, "and me shaking hands and laughing. I saw it as if it were happening in front of my eyes but could still see what was around here." He was very confused. I wondered if I should calm him.

"Interesting," I heard Carlisle whisper and the big vampire snicker.

Alice tightened her hand around mine. When I looked at her she was smiling but shook her head no. She was right. It was obviously enough for Edward to be sharing Alice's vision, but for me to throw my assistance in might prove to be too much.

He looked at me then, "Visions and calming. I don't understand." _Oh, well shoot, I suppose he heard me_, I thought. "Yeah, I did but I don't understand," He repeated.

"I have these… visions; premonitions if you will. Jasper can sense emotions and manipulate them to an extent." _I suppose Alice_ _decided to go with the 'honesty is the best policy' rout._

"Interesting," Carlisle repeated. Again, Emmett chuckled.

Esme walked over to the men still standing in the doorway, gave each of them a hug and a kiss on the cheek, effectively moving them away from the entrance. She closed the door behind them. "Alice and Jasper are new to this life and will be staying with us," she told them.

This seemed to settle things, as they crossed the room and shook our hands. Well, shook my hand. Alice hugged the both of them as if she had known them for centuries. They merely looked confused but resigned to being polite.

"Like you guessed, I'm Edward and this is my brother Emmett."

I had to hand it to Alice; she had a way with people. The conversation that followed could have been very uncomfortable, but she jumped right in as if she belonged. I, myself, was a bit uncomfortable. I must have been radiating because Emmett squirmed and looked at me.

"Man, is that the radiating thing she was talking about?" he questioned.

"Sorry, I didn't realize… How about this one?" I changed my mood to a giddy one and radiated it toward them. I was rewarded with a fit of laughter from everyone.

Emmett threw a punch to my shoulder and said, "Good one, I bet that power can come in handy in certain moments, huh?" He gestured toward Alice and looked back at me as if insinuating something.

OH MY GOODNESS!!! He thought Alice and I were mates. I didn't realize that was how this was coming off. Though I wouldn't mind being Alice's mate, it hadn't come to that and I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable about the insinuation. After tasting the atmosphere around me, I realized I was the only one uncomfortable with that comment. Alice seemed to be content.

My concentration was broken at the sound of another car pulling up in the drive. It drove quickly and stopped abruptly. Within a moment, and before anyone could mention who was coming, the door opened to a tall, blond woman with curves like an hour glass. She carried shopping bags in both of her arms. I felt a wave of tension coming from Alice and risked a glance back at her.

She was looking at the blond with a blank face but her emotion reminded me of something… jealousy perhaps. Alice's hand was still in mine but it was very still. So this must be what Alice hesitated on when we were back in the diner. "_Rosalie is… well she is good with cars."_

The thing is that no one has ever turned my head quite like Alice had; with her beautiful smile and warm heart, and a gorgeous body that I only wish I could possess. Rosalie had nothing on Alice for me. I squeezed her hand to reassure her. When she looked at me I smiled and brought her hand up to my mouth. I kissed her knuckles gently. When she smiled back at me I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her closer to me.


	13. Chapter 13

**A.N. DON'T FORGET TO READ OUR NEW STORY: Emmett's turn to watch Bella**

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

I thought I heard a chuckle coming from Emmett, but I could have been mistaken. When I looked at him, his composure was sound, so I dismissed it. A half second later I thought I heard another chuckle, this time from Edward; but it was gone before I could be sure. I checked the emotions around me but couldn't make heads or tails of what I was feeling.

Rosalie walked over to the far corner and put her bags down. "Esme, you're going to love the curtains I found for the living room."

Emmett walked over behind her. When she stood up, arms now free, he turned her around. He wrapped his arms around her, leaned in and kissed her. She responded by lacing her arms around him and kissing back just as fervently.

Then, it hit me. I felt the lust emanating off of them so powerfully that it was causing _things_ to happen to me. I knew what he was doing so I tried to stay calm and to concentrate on other things: the war when we were in the dug-outs, we had to sit in all kinds of weather. The rain was the worst. I remember I hated sitting in the rain until Alice and I stood in the rain a few days ago. Shoot that didn't help anything. I felt the general growing and pressing against my slacks.

I shifted my stance and tried to cover the bulge, now clearly visible, with my free hand. I noticed everyone else in the room seemed uncomfortable. Carlisle and Edward, too, had a bulge they were trying to hide. Esme's hand was running up and down Carlisle's arm. Alice was nudging in closer to me. Her one hand was still in mine but her other hand she placed on my stomach. She started to gradually slide it up my chest. I saw her tongue slide out of her mouth and roll across her top lip. It nearly undid me.

I was radiating again. It was causing everyone else in the room to get aroused. Since everyone else was getting aroused… It was a typical catch twenty-two.

Esme, bless her, decided to cut the tension, "Emmett, cut that out right now! Where are your manners?"

He kissed Rosalie one more time for good measure, and pulled back. He looked strait at me and laughed a good hearty laugh. The heat of the moment dissipated immediately as if it had never happened.

I was so embarrassed but no one seemed to care that it happened. "Please, excuse my son. He thinks his jokes are funny." Esme threw a sideways glance to him with a glare that would stop the moon from rising if it displeased her.

"I'm Rosalie, and I'm sure you have figured, I'm Emmett's mate." She was oblivious to what had just happened. Kisses like that must be a usual thing for them. I would have to prepare myself for those outbursts.

Alice stepped forward, "I'm Alice and this is my mate Jasper."

_What?!?! When?!?! _I was confused, pleasantly surprised though. _So she wanted to be my mate?_

I stored this bit of knowledge away for a later conversation, a more private one. Instead, I shook Rosalie's hand and let the conversation go from there. We touched on how the hunting was done. Since we were just starting out hunting animals, Carlisle, Edward or Emmett would have to go with each of us. They would stop us if we caught the sent of a human.

Our eyes would change colors in a few months. Until they did, we would have to stay here at the house. During that time, we could decide our cover story. Something that would be plausible as we moved here after the Reasers were already established in there lives. I suppose we would come up with our story after Alice and I find out just what we were to each other. It would be nice to be married for once. Maybe we could be Carlisle's family who came to live with him for a short while. This was another thing to store away for a later conversation.

Edward and Rosalie were in their senior year in high school. Emmett was off in college; or so that was their story. He mostly stayed around the house and helped Esme or Carlisle as they needed it. Esme was an interior designer though she didn't do much work with humans. Carlisle was a doctor at the local hospital. I still couldn't understand how he pulled that off. Even if I were around a person with a paper cut, I was certain I would loose control.

Esme and Carlisle were husband and wife. Edward and Emmett were Esme's younger brothers. They were sent to live with Esme and Carlisle because Esme's "mom" couldn't take care of them anymore. Rosalie was Emmett's orphaned girlfriend from "back home". The Reasers took her in because she had no other family to care for her. Rosalie says she and Emmett were going to get married next summer after she graduated.

All too soon the conversation took the turn I was so nervous for; the room.

"I'm going up to my room to change out of these clothes," he said.

Alice interrupted him, "Um… about that, your room had the best view so we moved your things out to the garage. Don't worry though, Esme and I have already discussed an addition."

"You did what? Why would you do that without even asking?" Oh yeah this wasn't going to be very good. I didn't like the way the anger was building. I stepped forward to move between Alice and Edward.

"Because I could see that you weren't going to mind. I had a vision, see." She started at him for a moment. I could see him startle a bit then he seemed to be watching something.

"Humph," he grunted. "Fine, you can have the room, but next time, please ask me before you do something that affects me."

Wow, that was too easy. How does she do it? The promise of an addition and seeing a vision and he was convinced. Apparently I wasn't the only one shocked by the easy agreement because Emmett piped in "Damn, I thought there was going to be a fight. I bet he could take you too." He was speaking to Edward.

_Of course I could take him. I had over a century of experience in war._

"psh… Yeah, right. You may have experience but I can hear what you're thinking. I can counter any move you try." He said. I was going to have to remember that if I were ever to fight him.

_Sounds like a challenge, _I intentionally thought toward him.

"Outside?" he asked.

"Boys, not now, Edward go get yourself cleaned up from your trip. Your clothes smell like a zoo. Emmett, you too, go get changed." Esme turned toward Rosalie, "now, let me see those curtains."

"C'mon, let's let the ladies do their lady thing. We'll give you a tour of the grounds." Emmett said.

Carlisle kissed Esme, "I think that would be a good idea." Then he walked toward the door.

Edward shrugged his shoulders, "No point in changing I suppose."

I looked to Alice to see if this was what she wanted. Her face was lit up with delight. I reached for her emotions like a lie detector and found they were genuine. I squeezed her hand for a moment and bent to kiss her. Brief as it was, the kiss still sent shocks through my body and left a longing to have that talk with her sooner rather than later. But she patted my hand, assuring me that I should go so I did.

Once outside we took off for the woods. They twisted and turned this way and that, giving me a few ideas of what animals would be around to hunt. I couldn't exactly see how all this was going to work. Humans were our real prey and the one time I hunted an animal it was… well disgusting to say the least. I said as much and they laughed.

"You'll get used to it, sooner or later. The bigger game isn't as bad especially the carnivores," Carlisle told me.

"Bears are my favorite, but I like to wrestle with them first. Makes it more fun," Emmett said.

"I like mountain lions myself, and Carlisle goes for…" Edward pondered for a moment. "What do you like best Carlisle?"

"Lynx," he replied. "And Esme likes tigers." At that he laughed as if there were a secret joke he wasn't telling us.

"Rose likes leopards but fancies a bear a day." Emmett roared laughing; implied meaning comprehended.

"So how long have the two of you been together?" Edward asked me, probably trying to change the subject before Emmett got carried away with his reminiscing.

"Well, she found me about a week ago. She said she just woke up and had a vision of where to find me though she didn't know exactly when. She went there and waited for me until I arrived."

"How long till you…" Emmett tilted his head to the side, "You know."

"Emmett," Carlisle put all the venom of a rattler in to the one word.

"It's ok, we haven't done anything, yet." I didn't even know if we were going to be doing anything. If we did do something, would I know how? I had never done anything like that before. But, wouldn't she want to get married before.

"Carlisle, how long have you been married to Esme?" I asked.

"We get married every few lifetimes." He laughed, "Our kind doesn't get married. We do because we are trying to maintain a life close to humans. When I was living with the Volturi-"

"You lived with the Volturi?!?!" I was astonished.

"Yes, for a short time I lived with them. But I wasn't comfortable with the traditional living. I wanted something more and wasn't able to find it there with them, so I left. But while I was there, Aero performed a type of mating ritual for those who wanted it. I asked him to do that for Esme and I about thirty years ago."

"Did you and Rosalie do one?" I asked Emmett.

"Yeah, Rose insisted on it. We did it seventeen years ago. Are you thinking about one? Carlisle can get a hold of Aero."

"I don't know yet, maybe. I just want to talk to Alice about it some." I didn't even know if she would want something like that but I was about to find out. I turned around and ran for the house.


	14. Chapter 14

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

I was getting closer to the house and could hear some talking. I couldn't quite hear the words but the emotions pounded me; giddy. I lived with only a few women for the past hundred years so I wasn't used to "giddy". Apparently this was an emotion I was going to have to get used to though. We had only been gone for ten minutes and this is what we come back to.

"OW! Man that hurts." Edward had plowed into Emmett. They had been horsing around the whole way home. Esme doesn't let them fight much, so they do it when she isn't around. Edward definitely had the upper hand. He dodged every attack from Emmett and nailed more than half of them. He was going to be a challenge.

"Boys, cut that out. You know I don't like it when you fight." Esme called from the house. We were only about fifty yards from the house now.

When I reached the edge of the woods where the yard started, Alice walked out on the porch. We would have to find some place private because I didn't want to have ears for this conversation.

"Alice, can we talk." I asked when I reached her.

"Of course," she said. If she had a vision about what we were going to talk about she wasn't letting me know. She put her hand in mine and we took of running again into the woods.

I knew how far we would have to go until no one could hear us but I kept running. I wanted to piece the words in my mind before I stopped. I also had seen a nice area while running around that would be good for this sort of thing. Very… romantic.

Alice ran fast for her height; she kept with my stride easily. Finally, we got to the clearing I saw earlier. It was at the farthest end of the property. The field wasn't large but it was covered with wild flowers. The trees were full of reds, oranges, yellows and a few browns spattered here and there. At one end of the field was a small pond. This was definitely the place to have this conversation.

I looked into her eyes. I knew I would be able to feel if she was lying but I also wanted to see it in her eyes for myself. "Alice, what exactly do you see of us?" I figured I should start with the basics.

"I see you and me, together."

"But how do you see us together?"

"I see us holding hands and kissing. I see us for many generations still together." She smiled at me; a beautiful, almost shy smile.

"I think you need to know some things about me before we get carried away. I have done some awful things, even before I was changed. I mean I am not a bad person but I have done bad things.

"When I was still a human, I lived in the time of the Civil War and had to kill a lot of people. Then I lived with a vampire named Maria. She was horrible. She had us fighting a war back in Texas. For the longest time, that was all I knew. I thought that was what it was to be a vampire. We killed a lot of people, both human and vampire for the sake of having more property.

"I didn't know that it could be different until my friend escaped and came back for me a few years later. I never even heard about feeding off of animals before you told me. I just assumed that I had to kill humans to live. I even tried to stop for a while until I lost control."

Alice stood there for so long I thought she was going to leave. Then she brought her hand up to my cheek and said, "I'm so sorry you had to live like that Jasper. It must have been so horrible to be at war for your whole life." Her voice was so tender and her eyes intense. "But that doesn't change how I feel about you. I loved you from the moment I saw you in my vision. I didn't even know if you were real. You can't imagine how good it felt to finally see you walk into the door in the diner." Alice looked as if she could cry. I was sure they would be happy tears because there was only love surrounding me.

"Alice, I haven't ever felt for anyone, the way I feel for you. I have lived for over a hundred years and there has never been anyone like you. I never thought I would feel this way about anyone." By this time my hands had found their way around her and were pulling her close. "I love you so much." I bent down as she stretched up on her toes, our lips found each other in a passionate kiss.

I could have kissed her forever but there was something very important I wanted to ask her. Reluctantly I pulled back.

"Alice, I was talking to Carlisle earlier and he said there was a "mating ceremony" we could do. I don't know if you are interested but I was hoping you would… Well, if my mother was still alive and we didn't get married, I think she would send me out back for a switch. I wouldn't want her to turn over in her grave. She always raised me to be nothing less than a gentleman and I don't think I could do _anything_ if we weren't married.

"What I'm saying is… Alice, would you marry me?" There it was said.

The outburst of her emotion nearly knocked me off my feet. Her love filled the air around us and wrapped us tightly together. Her mouth was on mine before I knew what she was going to do. She jumped into my arms and wrapped her legs around my waist.

I slid my hands down to hold her better only to find that meant putting them on her bottom. My mother would have kicked me if she knew about this but I did just propose and I thought she was agreeable.

But what an ass! It fit perfectly in my hands. Before I knew it my hands had taken it upon themselves to move. One hand over to hold her weight while the other slid up her back under her un-tucked shirt on her bare skin. I pulled her closer to me so our chests were touching completely; pressing her breasts into my chest.

Her hands worked their way into my hair and took hold of the locks. She kissed me so passionately. After a few minutes, I realized she hadn't actually given me a "YES" and if we were to even continue kissing I would need to hear it. For the second time, I reluctantly pulled out from a kiss. But only long enough to ask, "Was that a 'Yes'?"

"YES, of course I will marry you," she said; thus effectively ending the break in our kiss.

I knelt down in the grass and laid Alice down. I wasn't planning on taking it too far but I could "make-out" with my fiancé couldn't I? Alice's legs came free of my waist and I laid next to her propped up one my elbow. My hand went down the curve of her thigh into the crook of her knee and pulled it into a bent position.

One of Alice's hands slid down to my back while the other stayed locked in my hair. I kissed her jaw line down to her neck while I slid my hand up the front of her thigh wanting to feel every inch of her I could. I stopped at the waist of her pants, my fingers begging for permission to touch her skin again. When she noticed my hesitation she nodded and whispered "yes".

My hand inched slowly past the pants onto her smooth cool skin. Her stomach was flat but not too muscular. I kissed my way down to the neckline of her blouse, and then kissed around to the other side. One day I was going to be able to kiss every inch of her but for now…

I found myself grinding into her, the general was awake again and pushing hard against my zipper. Alice put her hand over him through the pants and rubbed. The feeling was unbelievable. I nibbled on her neck to let her know how good it felt. My hand was still searching under her shirt; it found what it was looking for. I felt the swell of her breast; not too small, not too big. I caressed her breast in the palm of my hand and heard a little whimper escape her lips. The attention made her nipples harden so I took one between my fingers and rolled it; again a little whimper from Alice. I rolled it again and heard her moan.

I pulled back to see the look on her face. Her eyes were closed and her lips slightly parted. Though she didn't need to, her breathing had increased. I leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips while I grabbed all her breast in my hand. She rubbed me harder as a reaction and my hips ground into the friction.

I decided to return the favor and slid my hands down between her legs. Through the jeans, I could feel warm moisture. Alice gasped and I looked at her face to see if I should stop. But as I started to pull my hand away she opened her eyes and firmly said, "No, don't stop."

I continued rubbing gently, as she rubbed the general. The friction increased and she ground her hips against my hand. I decided to keep my hand on the outside of her pants for the time being but I thought about how nice it was going to be when I finally got to touch her.

I could feel the tightening in my stomach that preceded release. Alice moaned softly and nibbled my ear and I could tell she was getting closer to her own release. I concentrated on the small spot in front that seemed to make her moan the most while she rubbed my length.

She was so close when something popped into my mind; something that was said earlier today. _I bet that power can come in handy in certain moments, huh? _I sent out the wave instantly as I thought the idea, and it pushed Alice over the top. I felt her jeans get wetter and her climax sent mine over as well.

I shuddered all over. I bent over and kissed Alice in a silent thank you. I rolled onto my back and pulled her into my arms. She draped her arm over my chest and rested her head on my shoulder.

"When are we going to get married?" she asked.

"Carlisle knows Aero personally and said he would set it up with him."

"Who?" She asked

"I'll explain it later. When do you _want_ to get married?" I countered.

"Very soon," she replied.


	15. Chapter 15

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Chapter 15**

Carlisle got on the phone immediately and began the arrangements. Esme and Rosalie bubbled over Alice and began making plans. Emmett and Edward both clapped me on the back with a loud "CONGRATULATIONS". It was kind of strange to have just met these people and already be included in the family. Their acceptance had to be based on Alice's personality.

Emmett looked at me seriously. "Man, this is gonna be tough. This ritual tests your devotion to your partner in a very physical way."

I was confused and it must have been written on my face because he followed it with, "You'll see."

Just then Carlisle walked into the living room where we were all waiting for him. "It is done. We leave this afternoon." He turned to me, "Congratulations, son."

Alice walked up to me, "We're going shopping. We'll be back before it's time to leave." She reached up and kissed me, soft on the lips.

"See you when you get back." I replied and she was gone.

I looked to the men and asked, "What are we looking at?"

"Well, there will be three tests to prove your loyalty to one another. One will be to test your devotion, another will test your strength, and the last will test your trust." Carlisle looked solemn but that was all he would say to that.

We packed our things. For the most part, all we needed was clothes for the trip and clothes for the honeymoon. Carlisle explained that they would take us to the Vulture's castle and be there waiting for us in the lobby. They were not allowed to go in because Aro was afraid having extra support would strengthen our relationship and he wanted to test our relationship alone.

After it was over, if we passed the tests, we would go on a honeymoon, compliments of Carlisle and Esme; again he went into no details.

The girls arrived home and packed their things in record time, for women, that is. It still took them twenty minutes to pack everything, and for a vampire that is a long time to do anything. We packed the cars; we had to take two because we were all going.

At the airport, we parked the cars in the long term parking garage, and carried our things in. Esme, Rosalie and Alice were only allowed to take two small bags and the rest of us had to take the bigger suitcases. Carlisle told me it was because we had to look the part. Though the girls would have been able to carry a tall stack of heavy suitcases, we had to act human to avoid attention.

Finally we were on the plane. Alice wanted the window seat so I let her in first and took my seat next to her. She was so excited, about the plane ride or the reason for the plane ride I wasn't sure; probably both. I knew it was going to be hard walking through a large crowd, it always is. I didn't realize how hard it would be in an airport though, and now I wanted to relax. Unfortunately, there were a few people on the plane who were very nervous; they must have had a fear of flying. I decided to do what I could to ease the tension so I, too, could relax. Within minutes, the cabin was calm and we were starting to roll forward.

The plane ride to Italy was very long. Emmett came up to me once through the ride to ask me to cut it with the calming for about thirty minutes and warn me that he and Rosalie were going to be "busy". That was difficult to keep myself calm and not radiate; it took complete control. We collected our belongings again while Carlisle rented two cars. They were Chevy Impala Super Sport and Chevy Chevelle Super Sport; very nice sporty looking cars. One was a forest green and the other was aqua. It was sunny out so Carlisle had to pay extra to get cars with window tinting and met us up in the parking garage.

We had reservations to a nice hotel but we didn't go there. Instead we went straight for Voltarra. Emmett took the wheel, I sat shotgun and the girls sat in the back and discussed something far too quiet for even Emmett or I to hear. It didn't matter so much; I was much more interested in the car. We rode in the forest green Chevelle. Emmett took the turns at 80 miles per hour. We could run faster than that of course but it was still exciting to ride in. Once during a particularly sharp curve, we got up on two wheels and Rosalie shouted at Emmett. She told him that if he wrecked the car and messed up her outfit, she would "get" him.

We approached a walled city, the gates were open and Emmett slowed to a near crawl as we entered the city behind Carlisle's car. We drove through crowded streets between street market venders. Carlisle parked in an open lot under a thick tree, and Emmett parked next to him. I got out of the car and folded the seat over holding my hand out to Alice, who was sitting right behind me. Rosalie got out on Emmett's side.

"Ok while we can we need to be very quick to get over to that shadow," Carlisle directed. I felt Alice's hand clench mine as she whispered, "no, do we have any umbrellas?"

"Oh, ok, let's see. Yes, here is one. Maybe we can go two at a time?" Esme answered.

"That will work. Carlisle, take Esme first." Edward said. Carlisle opened the umbrella and began to walk with Esme across the sunny courtyard. My eyes spotted something moving a short way off and realized Alice had "seen" someone discovering us walking too fast. We stood around pretending to be just talking until Carlisle returned to take another of us across the courtyard, again and again and again until we were all safely in the shadow.

"Nicely done. Carlisle, master bids you come with me." A young woman, maybe 16 when she was turned, stood in the shadows with us. She was as small as Alice and had short light brown hair and red eyes.

"Jane, of course," Carlisle answered, putting his arm around Esme's waist to guide her.

We walked through the back alleys of the city until we reached a door to a large building that looked like it was a castle. This must be the right place. We followed Jane through the doors into a room that looked like a hotel lobby. This is definitely the right place. Carlisle and Esme looked at Alice and me with a smile on their face. "Good luck," they said in unison. Emmett clapped my back and Edward shook my hand. "You'll do fine," Edward told me.

Alice gave one last hug to Esme and Rosalie and we were off following Jane again. I couldn't believe I was actually in the Volturi's castle. I had always been told of the greatness of them but never did I imagine I would meet them. We went down a few halls and up some stairs until we got to one door guarded by a burley looking man.

"Felix, we have an appointment with Aro, Caius, and Marcus," she informed him and moved aside. "Of course, they are expecting you. Your brother is already in there, Chelsea too."

I had little information about the inner workings of the Volturi, however, I had heard of Jane, Alec and Chelsea. I didn't know what their powers were but I know they were highly coveted by Aro and very powerful. We entered the room.

Sitting straight ahead in the center of the room were Aro, Caius and Marcus; the three most powerful vampires on the planet, royalty. They were clad in pitch black robes and their skin was paler than most our kind, almost chalky. Two had long black hair and one had hair as white as his skin that only came down to his shoulders. Their red eyes seemed to be clouded and milky as if they had cataracts. The one in the middle looked very excited to see us, the blond looked annoyed and the other dark haired man looked… well he looked kind of… bored. I didn't know if I should bow or shake their hand or what, so I just stood there until I was told to do something. Alice stood there too holding my hand looking very confident.

Aro, the one who looked very excited, spoke first, "Jasper, Alice, welcome, my good friend Carlisle informed me you were interested in our mating ritual?" I nodded, "Yes sir."

"Very well, were you told what these tests will accomplish?" I confirmed we had. "Good, then we will get started immediately. First, Chelsea, please step forward." A young woman in a long very dark grey robe stepped forward and looked straight at us. She looked as if she was concentrating on something but I was unaware of what was supposed to be happening. I looked down at Alice to see if she had another vision or if she may have had a clue to what was going on. Her face was blank as if she was just as confused as I was. I looked back up at Chelsea just as she blew out a raspberry and looked over at Aro, then stepped back to her original position.

"You passed the first test. You both are very devoted to each other. I congratulate you." Aro said with a nod of his head. He looked over his shoulder to the blond and said, "Caius, I believe the next test is yours."

"Jane," he commanded. As soon as the name was out of his mouth Alice fell to the floor screaming and I was tackled from behind. Felix had taken me by surprise and I needed to get to Alice to see if she was okay. Her screams grew louder as I struggled under Felix. I twisted around to get into a better position. I had one hand free and was profusely glad I had worked for Maria for so long. I brought my hand around and swung as hard as I could, knocking him off of me. I jumped up and bent into a crouched position only to find that Felix was already on his feet. I knew he was much bigger than I was so I would have to work quickly to incapacitate him. I sprang from the ground with extra force than I would have normally and landed squarely on his chest knocking him down again. I had my legs around his chest and pinned both his arms under my knees. I then grabbed his throat and went in to bite his neck when Caius stopped me with a booming voice, "ENOUGH!" At that Felix went limp under me and I looked up to see Aro applauding.

"You pass," Caius remarked grumpily. As quickly as I could I jumped off him and went to Alice who by this time had stopped screaming and was back on her feet. I looked her over as carefully as I could and she smiled at me, "I'm okay, I'm fine, really. It is over." Relief flooded me and I hugged her as tightly as I could; never wanting anything to happen to her again.

Aro looked at the other dark haired vampire, "Marcus, if you will…"

Marcus, looking as if he would yawn, waved his hand and said, "Let go of each other and step away." Then he turned to another dark grey robed vampire, "Alec."

Alice looked at me as if asking if we should do as we were told. I nodded my head and kissed her hand before letting it go. I took a couple of steps away from her not making her be the one to step away. She seemed so terrified and I couldn't see why she hadn't gotten a vision to comfort her.

We waited for what seemed like a life time but it was more like 30 seconds when we saw a nearly indistinguishable fog floating slowly over toward us. I felt Alice become more anxious so I tried to comfort her by saying, "Don't worry, I'll be here to protect you." She looked at me and smiled growing a bit calmer.

The fog floated over our feet, continuing up our legs, our bodies, our shoulders. It rose up and covered us completely and as soon as it did, everything went blank. It was as if my senses were taken away from me. I couldn't see anything nor could I smell anything. I could barely hear any noise and since I was touching nothing, I felt nothing. I knew Alice was still there because I could feel her angst grow uncontrollably. I had to comfort her somehow; I couldn't just let her suffer the feeling of being alone. She didn't have the feeling like I did that she was still near and without that she might feel like she was completely alone and abandoned. I concentrated on her and sent the calming over to her direction.

Alice simply whispered, "I know you're here, I can feel you." When she said that, I began to feel the fog descend and my senses restored. A sigh came from Alice's direction letting me know she too had recovered her vision and sight.

Marcus stifled another yawn saying, "Pass."

Alice lunged into my arms as if I would disappear again at any second. I held her with all my might.

"My congratulations to you, friends." Aro said. "As in our eyes, the two of you are now mates. You are free to leave. Thank you for coming, I did so enjoy your visit. Please tell my dearest friend, Carlisle on the way out, that I missed his visit and truly hope he comes for a social visit next time."

"We will," I said. "Thank you."

"Alec, would you show our guests back to the lobby?" Aro asked.

"Of course, master," he replied and turned for the door.

We followed him quickly without glancing backward, thrilled to be leaving finally. He led us out to the lobby where our new family waited anxiously for our return.


	16. Chapter 16

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Chapter 16**

Carlisle and Esme had arranged for Alice and me to have a little honeymoon. We drove to Rome; our reservation was for the Grand Hotel Plaza. When we arrived I had to take a minute to absorb my surroundings. They aptly named this place. It certainly was grand. It had two staircases flanking either side of the room. A fountain surrounded by elegant furniture graced the center of the elaborate foyer. The walls held beautiful artwork. I looked down to see the mosaic tile artwork below our feet; a depiction of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. I was debating whether I died and went to heaven or hell when Alice took my hand and led me to the giant mahogany desk to check in. HEAVEN!

We approached a man with olive skin, deep brown eyes, and a thick mustache. He was dressed in a crisp hotel uniform. I had a hard time understanding his heavily accented broken English. "Welcome, Grand Hotel Plaza. Help you? Reserve- uh,"

Alice jumped in, "Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock." She turned to me, "I love how that sounds."

"Here, room three-two-seven," his "V's" sounded like a "B".

I took the key and Alice turned to me with a smile------

We took the staircase to the right. We were about half way up when Alice turned to me and placed a small kiss on my neck. "I love you Mr. Whitlock" she whispered into my ear.

"I love you too Mrs. Whitlock" I responded.

We continued on our way to the room. I unlocked the door and opened it. Alice giggled when I scooped her up into my arms and carried her into the room all the while gazing into her eyes as if I could see straight into her soul. She let out a small gasp as she looked around. "It's beautiful," she exclaimed. I set her on her feet and looked around too.

The four poster king size bed was in the middle of the room. It was ornately design with cherubs carved into the headboard. The duvet was made of a shiny material I had never seen before. I reached down and touched it. It was the softest, smoothest material I ever had the pleasure of touching. _Note to self find out what this material is_. There was a suitcase on the bed with a note addressed to Alice.

As she read it I took in the rest of surroundings. The room reminded me of the foyer downstairs with the exception of the floor; it had plush carpeting in here. I noticed pink and red rose petals placed in a line on the floor.

"I wonder where these go." I asked while I followed them. They led to a set of double doors. I opened the doors to find a colossal bathroom illuminated with candlelight, and strong rose scent assaulted my nose. The tub was round and looked like several people could fit in at the same time. Alice was by my side taking in the opulent beauty.

"I need to wash up from our travels and seeing how the bath is already drawn… Would you care to join me?" She smiled up at me. I couldn't believe it, I love my beautiful wife for suggesting I join her for a bath.

I could feel her nervousness as she fumbled with the buttons on her dress. I was down to my briefs by the time she managed to undo her buttons. The dress slid down her shoulders exposing the creamy white skin underneath. She pushed the dress down to the floor. I was entranced by the beautiful creature standing before me in nothing but a white lace bra and matching panties.

Her nervousness was intensifying under my gaze. I crossed the large open space between us in two steps and cupped her chin. "Alice sweetheart, we don't have to do this now. We can wait."

She smiled a weak smile," I want to do this. It's just I don't know how."

"Do you want me to help calm you?" I asked as I began to radiate.

"Yes, if you don't mind," she answered.

I sent a wave of calm to her and she let out a much relaxed sigh. "I thought we could take things slow and go at your pace. Would you like for me to wash you?"

"That sounds nice. I think I would like that very much," her angelic voice chimed. I leaned forward and kissed her as I reached behind her to unhook her bra. I gently pulled off the bra and let it fall to the floor. I let her take off her panties while I watched her bend over shyly, slipping them off each leg. I did the same with my underwear.

I settled into the tub and motioned for her to join me. She walked over and carfully stepped into the warm water. She turned around and sat in between my legs. It was a perfect fit. I grabbed a washrag and dipped it in the water while I reached over and got the vanilla scented soap. I began to wash her shoulders massaging them as I went. I continued to her back washing in small circles. This began to relax her and I was able to stop radiating.

I rinced the wrag out and used it to rince off the soap. Now that her back was clean I couldn't help but kiss the skin expose before me. She gasped as my lips touched her back. I lathered the soap again and began to wash her arms not stoping the kisses. When I reached her shoulders, this time in the front, I stopped and waited a moment to make sure she was still comfortable with me proceding. When she turned her head, there was a sexy grin playing on her lips. I had to smile back at that as I kissed her, continuing to wash her breasts, then down to ther smooth stomach. I rinced out the washrag again so I could rince off her chest.

I moved around to the side a bit so I could reach her legs. I lifted one leg out of the water, beginning with her thigh washed down her knee, calf and foot; making sure to get inbetween each adorable toe. When I finished with the first leg I lowered it back into the water and washed the other leg in the same fashion. I took care to appreciate every inch of her lovely self.

After I was done she grinned a wicked grin and said, "My turn," as she reached for the soap and a clean washrag. When we were done, I pulled Alice back to me and we sat cuddled together for a few more minutes before the water became cold. We got out and I wrapped Alice in one of the over-sized plush towels and proceeded to dry her off with mine before drying myself. We made our way back to the bedroom and sat on the bed. "I see the bath calmed you down."

"No silly, you did. Thank you for giving me time and not rushing things. I love you Jazz."

"Darlin I will do anything for you. I love you too."

Alice moved in to kiss me. She let her towel fall to the bed as raised her arms and laced them around my neck, deepening the kiss. I felt so much passion, lust, desire, and most of all love projecting off her. Her hands roamed over my still damp chest while my hands roamed down her back stopping at the small of her back and drew small circles with my fingertips. I let out a moan of pleasure; I have never felt skin so soft and smooth before. I moved my hands around to the flat surface of her stomach grazeing pattern around her belly button. Alice was tracing her finger tips up and down my back sending shivers through my body. I slowly made my way up to her perky breasts and gently tugged at the tiny pink buds. She threw her head back a bit and a small moan escaped her mouth. Her desire was getting stronger.

I felt her hands travel down my back and around to my groin. Her small hand griped the General and started stroking me up and down. She tightened her grip and knelt down in front of me. She put her mouth around the tip of my penis and sucked slightly. I involuntarily groaned and reached to support myself with the bed post. I loved this new feeling she was giving me. She took more of me into her mouth, stroking what didn't fit with her hand. The combination of her hand and tongue was bringing me close to the edge. "Darlin' I love what you are doing but if you don't stop I will be able to hold out. I wanted us to experience this together. Here, sit on the bed and let me show you the pleasure you have shown me."

She looked at me with curious eyes. I keep forgetting she is new to this. The way she just made me feel had me thinking she had done this before; but of course, if she had she didn't know it. She did as I asked and I slid my hand down to the warmth between her legs and started gently stroking. I knelt down in front of her as I placed one finger at her opening and slowly slid it in and then out. She breathed a small gasp. Her desire sky-rocketed immensely so I continued to slid my finger in and out. I lowered my head and licked the little ball of nerves. She let out a nearly inhuman noise and I licked it again. I felt her fingers run through my hair and grab a lock into her fist. When I felt she was ready, I added another finger to the one already inside her. She started rolling her hips to meet my hands and moaning as she did. She tasted so sweet and the noises she made were like music. She started bucking her hips wildly and I could tell she was close. I stood up and lingered above her taking in the beauty she possessed. She was breathtaking.

"Jasper" she whispered, "I'm ready. I want you to make love to me."

She scooted further back on the bed and I placed myself between her legs. When we were in a comfortable position I pierced her warm flesh. She let out a small whimper and I waited inside her, completely still, allowing her body to adjust to me and to let the pain subside.

She nodded to let me know she was ready to continue. I slid myself almost all the way out before I push myself back in gently and painfully slow. She was so warm and tight. I felt like I was in heaven right now. I had one hand holding my balance and my other hand slid up her hip, up the side of her waist all the way up to her neck. My thumb traced the line of her jaw, back and forth. This beautiful creature was giving me so much pleasure and the look on her face said I was reciprocating. I projected my pleasure back to her intensifying our connection as I pumped slowly inside of her. She let out a little moan. Her nails raked my back sending me chills. I continued projecting as we brought each other closer to climax. She met each of my thrusts with her hips. We move together like we had been making love together for years. My thrusts got harder and faster and she was meeting everyone with the same speed and force I used. We both screamed each other's names as we melted into oblivion.


	17. Chapter 17

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

**A.N. I didn't feel it too necessary to add details to this love scene but don't worry we havn't given up on practicing writing smutt. We have some pretty good ideas for the "future". Also, if you have any coments or suggestions, feel free to pop in and let us know. And without further ado... ENJOY...**

**Chapter 17**

"Jasper," Alice began, as she laid her head on my chest. I had my arm wrapped around her holding her close.

"Hum," I grunted.

"Do you know what those test were supposed to have determined?"

"Before we went, Carlisle told me they would test our devotion, strength, and trust. If I had to guess, I would say that was the order they came in."

She looked confused and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I would think Chelsea the power to sway relationships if she so choose. I am willing to bet that the only relationships that cannot be torn apart are ones as strong as ours." I watched as Alice absorbed that. "The second one was obvious, strength. I had to fight Felix. I might not have done my best if I didn't feel the need to help you. Jane must have done something to you to make me want to get Felix off me faster."

Alice's face contorted in the memory, "Boy, I'll say she did."

I ducked my head to kiss her. "And the last test had to be trusting that we weren't leaving each other even if we couldn't see or hear each other. Alec's power erased all of our senses but I was still able to calm you and let you know I was there for you. You trusted that I was there for you because you could feel me calming you."

"Tell me about Maria. You said she was horrible, that she had you fighting a war. Is that how you got all these scars?" She asked while she rubbed her fingers on one of my thousand bite marks.

"Vampire teeth are the only thing that can tear vampire skin and I was attacked many times. They are all vampire bites," I explained. "Maria was the one who changed me. I lived with her for a hundred years, fighting this war of hers. She kept me around because of my… abilities." I hesitated a bit. I didn't know if I should tell her the rest.

Alice must have realized I was struggling. "I want to know it all, please."

I took a deep breath. I didn't want to confess this next part but it would come out one day and I would have to face the music eventually. I decided to come out with it now so I couldn't be accused of hiding anything or lying. "She and I were intimate. I never felt for her the way I do for you and I would never consider going back to her." I wanted to make that part known beyond a doubt.

"Did you love her at all?" Alice asked.

"No, I never loved her. It was just sex." I answered honestly. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," she replied.

"Why is it, do you think, that you don't remember anything before you were changed?"

"I have thought about it some. I think maybe I had amnesia or the change didn't go very well. When I woke up, I was in a cabin in Mississippi just outside of Biloxi. I was alone and there were signs of a struggle in the cabin, but no one was there. I looked everywhere."

"Was there any sign of a recent fire?" I asked.

"Yes, in the fireplace. There was also a very strong sweet smell." Her hand grazed my chest as she spoke.

"He or she was probably burned there. What I don't understand is why they only killed the other vampire, but they left you."

"Is it my turn to ask another question?"

"Sure," I said with a grin playing at the corner of my lips.

She twisted and propped up on her elbows. "What was your family like?"

"I don't remember much about them. If you don't think about your human memories after you change they fade away. I remember my ma always telling me how to behave, how to be a gentleman. My pa was a hard worker. I can remember him out in the field plowing the earth. I remember that he loved my ma passionately. My brother and I always thought it was gross to see them kiss, but we never doubted he loved her. My brother was younger than me. He didn't like me much toward the end but I think I figured that one out."

She giggled, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, I think he was in love with a woman who thought she loved me. I went back a few years after I was changed and found them in their own place with a baby."

Alice leaned forward and kissed my lips lightly.

"My turn," I said. "When you have visions, what are they like?"

"I'm not sure… It feels like a memory but I know it hasn't happened yet. Maybe like a day dream that I know will happen. I can still see everything around me but I see the premonition too. The first time it happened, I looked around for you. I thought maybe you were hiding waiting for me. I looked for you for two days before I had the same vision again and realized what I had to do. Where did you live before I found you?

"I lived in Texas, some parts of Mexico. I grew up just outside of Houston though." Seeing that that satisfied her, I asked another question. "What was Jane doing to you?" My voice cracked and I hoped she didn't notice it.

"I don't know what happened when she looked at me but it felt like I was on fire. My whole body felt like I was standing in a bonfire. But as soon as Caius told us we passed, everything just stopped burning. I looked over and saw you on top of the big one and had no idea what I missed."

"It worked out for the best, don't worry Alice." I kissed her forehead and gave her a light hug. "I'm thirsty. Let's go hunt." I said to lighten the mood.

Alice got up to get dressed. I just laid there to enjoy the view. A low growl rumbled through my lips before I could stop it. Alice looked back at me and giggled a high musical giggle then went to get dressed.

Rome wasn't the best location for hunting so we ran to Tuscany. We ran easily through the hills and valleys. We stopped for a moment to get our bearings. Alice had only paused for a moment, sniffed the air and started running again. I decided to follow her instead of hunting just yet. I kept a fair distance so I wouldn't interrupt her. It would be my luck that she would turn on me in her frenzy.

Alice slowed to stock her potential catch. Her knees were bent and her hands were just behind her body. Her face was intent on spying her dinner, an unsuspecting deer. She stood at the edge of a vineyard analyzing the deer as it grazed. Suddenly, and very quietly, she sprinted for it. She sprang at the very last second, wrapping her arms around the neck and sinking her teeth in. The animal wretched violently to escape but she held her footing not giving an inch. She stayed so still, with just the slightest movement of her shoulders to show she was drinking. The deer slowly began to droop as Alice drank, finally flopping lifelessly in her arms. Alice stood up straight and dropped the carcass. In all my years of hunting, and watching others hunt, I had never seen someone kill as gracefully as she had. It was as if she was in a ballet and every step was precisely executed with the grace only a ballerina could display. I dashed to her side, swooped her in my arms and when I kissed her I pushed the emotional cocktail I was feeling onto her: desire, lust, passion, awe and most of all love.

We finished hunting in the beautiful country side and headed back to the hotel. Alice walked with me, holding and swinging my hand. I led her to the hotel room and held the door open for her to walk in. I reached for the "Do Not Disturb" sign and hung in on the knob before closing the door securely behind us.

"I'm going to wash up a little," she said as she grabbed her suitcase. It was the one that was in the room when we first arrived. I wondered what was in there. Alice walked in the bathroom and closed the door without a backward glance.

I sat anxiously waiting. I didn't know if I should undress or keep my clothes on till she came back out. I was nude in a flash. The door opened exaggeratedly slow. One pale flawless leg stepped out and stayed there for a moment. Painfully slow, the door opened a bit more exposing a hip. There was some red lace fringed on the top of the curve. Again, the door opened, this time exposing the rest of Alice. She perched herself against the jam of the door, with her left leg bent and her right arm reaching above her. She wore lace that flowed over her thin body like the shortest dress I had ever seen. Under that she wore a pair of red panties. She had taken the time to clean up after our hunt and I was rewarded with this. Her hair was pulled back with some clips and her makeup was flawless.

"See something you like," she asked.

I stayed where I was, drinking in her beauty. I couldn't decide where to start first. I thought about walking over there and scooping her up, but decided that was too careless. I thought about asking her to come over to me, but that felt just rude. I could have walked over and offered her my hand and led her to bed, but I didn't think I would make it that far. My indecision was rewarded with a melodious giggle from Alice. "Make up your mind already. I'm getting dizzy."

I decided to share my emotions with her from afar. I stood at the opposite end of the room and flooded her with what I felt for her. Soon after I began she crossed the room in an instant spring at the last moment into my arms. I caught her and she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me hard. My hands went under her butt to hold her to me and I felt the smooth fabric in my fingertips again, the same as the duvet. I put that aside for later and focused on the sexy pixie in my arms kissing me.


	18. Chapter 18

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Chapter 18**

We met everyone downstairs in the lobby for our sightseeing. Alice was very excited; her excitement was contagious. We had plans to go to the Roman Coliseum and The Leaning Tower of Pisa while we were here in Italy. We would take a detour down to Egypt to see the Sphinx. On our way home we would stop by Stonehenge. Carlisle said they were of interest to our culture, though I couldn't see how a couple of buildings some rocks and a pyramid could be interesting. Esme greeted us as if she had missed us desperately.

Our first stop was the Roman Coliseum, one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering. The coliseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, and quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine. Over the years it had been partially ruined due to damage caused by devastating earthquakes and stone-robbers.

Yes, I read up about it. The thing was, living with Maria, I didn't have much in the way of entertainment and we had our down times. I happened to stumble on some text books from a local school. Amongst them, I found my passion, World History. It was something I found fascinating and couldn't get enough information on. Of course, I only had to read it once, then it was committed to memory and I was out of reading material for a while.

Alice was in awe with the coliseum. "Why is it destroyed?" she asked.

I began the explanation I read out of the history book. Carlisle cut me off before I could get too far with it though. "That is the official story."

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

"Well, you see, we have our hands more entwined in history than humans know. This story is actually very important. It is one of the biggest proofs of why there should never be any immortal children. It happened in the medieval era. Aro decided to study the children that had been changed here in Italy."

"Immortal children," Alice asked.

"They were human children that were turned. They are irresistible and beautiful, but they cannot be controlled. They could never grow up or mature," Edward answered. I couldn't help but notice a strange feeling radiating off Rosalie since this story began. It felt almost jealous but I couldn't understand why she would be jealous of children.

Carlisle nodded and continued, "Aro had two girls and a boy to study, Kahini, Béline and Ahriman. They were," he nodded to Edward, "as you said, irresistible. Aro wanted to study them to see if they could be taught to behave.

"Kahini was seven years old and Béline was five years. The boy, Ahriman was three years old. One day, Ahriman had been exceptionally misbehaved. Caius took it on himself to discipline him and wasn't particularly nice about it. Ahriman escaped the castle and started throwing a fit. He destroyed a nearby city completely before moving here. He got as far as nearly knocking down the coliseum before Aro's henchmen destroyed him." He paused for a moment before continuing with a sad chuckle, "Coincidently Ahriman means 'destructive force.'"

Esme continued for her husband, "Soon after, the other two were destroyed along with the dispatching of a small army to destroy any immortal children that existed at the time. Whole covens were destroyed because the adults desire to protect the children."

Well, how do you follow that one up? I had the most sadness flooded into me than I had in a while. The majority seemed to come from Rosalie and I think I understood better now. Rosalie must have wanted a child of her own…

After staying there for a while, we traveled to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower. I read that it is situated behind the Cathedral and is the third oldest structure in Pisa's Cathedral Square. Although intended to stand vertically, the tower began leaning to the southeast soon after the onset of construction in 1173 due to a poorly laid foundation and loose substrate that has allowed the foundation to shift direction.

Learning quickly, I spoke first. "Alright, Carlisle, why is the tower leaning?"

He looked bemused. "Well, this story is actually an unusual one. It was Marcus." He had a smirk on his face while he stared at the tower knowingly. "Marcus' wife Didyme was very interested to seeing everything. She was also a very sexual creature."

Carlisle chuckled and continued, "Marcus loved Didyme, would do anything for her. She was _interested_, and he didn't refuse her. Of course, Aro was furious. Not only did he have to deal with a cover up but Didyme was his sister. He was very unhappy with Marcus for a long while. The story went on a happy note for a while though. They married soon after and lived in Voltera for a long while. Eventually they decided to go on their own way. Aro wasn't very happy about the departure but accepted it. Years later Didyme died and Marcus moved back." Suddenly, he turned to face us, "Well, now you know why the Leaning Tower of Pisa _leans._ Word of suggestion, do it against a cliff or something more sturdy." And he left it at that.

"Ha, I knew it!" Emmett boomed. Rosalie looked disgusted and elbowed him. Esme seemed embarrassed and Edward impassive. Alice, well lets say we were going to be needing a cliff one day.

Ah, the Great Sphinx of Giza, the statue of a reclining lion with a human head that stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile. The one-meter-wide nose on the face is missing. In 1378 CE, upon finding the Egyptian peasants making offerings to the Sphinx in the hope of increasing their harvest, Sa'im al-Dahr was so outraged that he destroyed the nose, and was hanged for vandalism; or so I'd read.

Carlisle seemed to realize we were all waiting for the more interesting story. "Felix, the guard at the castle, had been dating a woman by the name of Amisi. She was every bit as beautiful as an angel. They seemed to be in love and he even wanted to follow through with the ritual. Unfortunately, Amisi had been unfaithful to him. She had also been intimate with a man named Olam.

"Felix was unquestionably furious and demanded Amisi to choose between the two of them. She chose Olam. Felix called him out but Olam and Amisi ran. Felix asked Demetri to help him find them. Demetri is a tracker, a very powerful one. He eventually led them here. There was a horrible battle between the two. It seemed like Olam had the upper hand but Felix got a good punch in, throwing Olam into the air and knocking off the Sphinx's nose. The fight continued until there was no trace of the nose left.

"A fire was started… and I'm sure you can guess the end. Felix is a force to not be reckoned with. Don't ever get on his bad side."

_That's it??? I felt cheated. OOOO A vampire knocked another vampire into the sphinx's nose. I'm so scared. The next story had better be better, that's all I got to say._

We traveled to Wiltshire to see the infamous Stonehenge. I read that the bluestone's were arranged and used for a burial ground. There had been signs of cremation but at the rate I was going, I would have to relearn everything I ever read about history.

"It's a… "burial ground" if you will." _What?_ "Many years ago, vampires were governed by two Romanians, Stephan and Vladimir. They were cruel and unjust. They never did anything to better the world or our race. Instead, they only acted to increase their own riches. Werewolves were hunting us down and humans were setting our dwellings on fire causing us to hide in fear.

"Aro went to them in hopes of getting them to do something. They refused saying they were safe and if anyone else died, it was their own fault for not protecting themselves well enough.

"Naturally, Aro was furious at their lack of response. He convinced Marcus and Caius that they were powerful enough to take the Romanians down. Marcus was to plan things out and Caius was willing to go along with anything that would lead to a fight. He was always that kind, kick butt now, ask questions later. Marcus was more careful. He wanted to plan out every detail before they made their trip back to Romania.

"Aro, however, was a born leader. He kept only strong vampires near him. With the touch of his hand he could hear," he turned to Edward, "Much like you son. Only he could hear every thought the person ever had. He used this power to enlist other powerful vampires. After they had enough power and muscle, they returned to Stephan and Vladimir.

"Aro asked them once more if they would reconsider. They declined and the war broke out. The Romanians quickly realized they couldn't win and in the interest of preserving their lives, they ran. Only Stephan and Vladimir got away. Their guards were burned here. The rest of the stones were erected as a reminder to any coven that the Volturi rule."


	19. Chapter 19

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer. Also, I'd like to give a big THANK YOU to Chris Young for releasing Gettin' You Home (the black dress song) as my inspiration for most of this story. Betty and I had a difficult time deciding on this chapter but with a little inspiration and collaborating we have this for you wonderful ppls... ENJOY**

**Chapter 19**

Alice stood in front of the mirror putting the finishing touches on her lipstick. She was a vision of beauty. Her hair was spiked out in every direction. She was wearing a knee length, strappy black dress that showed her down to the small of her back. Her slender legs were accented with some black heels that added three inches to my beautiful, but short, wife. I, of course, was already ready to go wearing a suit that I was actually comfortable in. Alice picked it out for me and again, it fit like a glove.

While waiting for Alice, I stood by the bed and thought of everything that had happened. We had returned from Italy and settled in the house. Carlisle asked to speak to us almost as soon as we walked in the door. I felt apprehension coming from him but Alice didn't seem at all disturbed. In fact, she seemed aware and prepared. She must have had a vision of the upcoming conversation.

"Sit down, please," he said, gesturing to the two leather seats sitting adjacent to his desk. Alice and I sat while Carlisle paced nervously. I was about to speak when Alice reached for my hand and gave it a little squeeze that seemed to say _'Be patient, he is gathering his thoughts'_. So I waited.

"I know we have only just met, but I want you to know," his hand waved to include the two of us, "that I think of you two as family. I would like to have you two stay with us on a permanent basis."

"Oh we would love that," Alice chimed in, smile blazing for all to see.

Carlisle returned her smile, "That, however, will take some work from all of us. We should start getting you two integrated into the populous. I was thinking we could start slowly. I'd like to see you two start young, perhaps high school."

I groaned. I hadn't been in school since they were one room, all the kids in the town crammed in, while the teacher taught the various groups our three "R's". I didn't do well then but with my now photographic memory, that should change.

Carlisle didn't miss a beat, "The best way to start this is to 'fill up' and go out in public." He looked at Alice with a knowing grin. "Test the waters a little. When you two feel like you can handle it and when your eyes have changed, we will be able to enroll you in the local high school. I know it won't be easy for either of you but I want you to know that we are all here for you."

"Thank you," Alice replied for the both of us. I nodded my agreement and Carlisle continued on our integration plan. I wasn't quite sure how this was going to work but I was willing to try. For Alice.

"I'm done," Alice broke into my thoughts. She turned away from the mirror to give me a full view. Upon my groan of approval she pirouetted to allow me to appreciate the dress further. She was perfection personified. I really didn't know how we were going to get through the opera tonight. "Don't you dare," Alice frowned, but I could feel the mischievousness that implied she wasn't too serious.

The drive to Boston was a short drive, a mere ten minutes. I parked on the street a few blocks away from the opera house, which seemed to be the only parking available. Alice grumbled about her new heels, something about scuffs… I held out my arm and she slid her hand into the crook of my elbow and I began to lead the way. We were going to watch "La vestale", Spontini's opera about a vestal virgin in love.

The emotions hit me before we even got to the door. There was just about every emotion you could imagine in this building. The opera house was crowded. As soon as we walked in my throat began to itch and burn. Alice's hand squeezed my arm and I noticed she began to breathe shallow breaths. I was able to ignore it mostly. I had been in these situations previously though not as long as I would be tonight. I wouldn't be able to control the emotions of those around me, nor would I be able to feed, but Alice told me we would leave before things got too bad for either one of us.

We walked up two flights of stairs and down a long hall that led to the balcony seats I purchased for us earlier that day. I didn't want us to be too close to other people. The thought of sitting so close to a human, feeling their heat radiating off of them and hearing their blood pulsate through their vains would have been too much for us for one night. We would work on just ignoring their scent tonight.

I held the curtain aside for Alice to walk in. She looked up at me with a beautiful smile. Her slight figure in the thin black fabric drove me crazy. I could already see what we would be doing tonight after we got home. I would follow her up to our room. She would walk slowly so I could watch, up the stairs and down the hall into our room. In our room she would dance over to the bed in the middle of the room, glancing over her shoulder at me. Her hand would slip the strap of her dress off her shoulder…

"Ahhem…" Alice cleared her throat. I looked, and sure enough I was busted.

The lights dimmed and the curtains parted. Alice's excitement was enough to make this all worth it. Not only were we acclimating ourselves to being near humans, but this was her first opera. I had a feeling I was going to be enjoying giving her all of her firsts. The love scene played out. I found that I couldn't concentrate on the stage though. My mind wondered back to Alice and me in the room.

I don't think I would have her take off the dress. I would probably just lift it out of the way. The heels would stay on for sure. I would start by kissing her neck slowly; run my hand up her leg, taking the dress with me. I would grip her firm butt. My kisses would trail up her chin to her bright red lips. She would run one hand in my hair while the other slightly trailed down my back, causing shivers of pleasure. I would have to shed my pants quickly or they would be lost in a matter of minutes. I would grab the back of Alice's knee and bring up her leg…

I felt Alice tense for a moment, and when she went slack, I felt the lust that told me her vision was of what I had been fantasizing. Through my periphery, I saw Alice grinning slightly, her lips parted. I continued my day dreaming.

I would kiss down her neck, her sternum, down to her breasts. I would nibble one nipple and watch it pucker through the flimsy cloth. Yes, the dress would definitely stay on tonight. I would slide my hand further up from her knee, over her thigh rounding to the inside. When I got to her core, I would pause for a moment to tease Alice just a bit. I would slip two fingers in to her. Maybe my thumb would tease her clit at the same time. She would move her hips against my hand in anticipation.

A tiny moan escaped Alice's lips and I had an idea. I wanted to see if I could push her over the edge without touching her. For this though I would have to use my "abilities" to encourage her. I decided to start with the love I felt with her, mixed in the lust I felt from her near transparent black handkerchief of a dress, add some adoration, protection, and admiration. I sent my cocktail her way while I continued my vision of the night.

After pleasuring her for a little, I would grab her and roll over pulling her on top of me. She would saddle up. I would slide her straps down her shoulders, exposing her perfect "B's". She would rock back and forth while I finally had my hands free to stimulate her better. She would accelerate her pace and I would near my climax.

Alice sighed a little and I felt her emotions letting me know my task had been completed just as I would have in my daydream.

Now I would have to focus more on my other surroundings. I didn't think Alice would allow me to do that to her every time we were in public so I would have to do my homework and get more in control of my bloodlust. And now that I was thinking about it, the itch worsened. I cleared my throat hoping to alleviate some of the burn. It didn't help. Venom flooded my mouth. I felt my muscles tense with restraint. I tried to focus on the opera which was nearing intermission. The woman at the center of the stage was singing, her hand rested on her neck. I could see her clearly from where we sat. She was a middle aged woman with signs of aging around her eyes and in her neck. She was a frail woman who looked like she could be snapped in two by a human much less me.

"We should leave. I think we've tested ourselves enough for one night," Alice said, standing to leave. I nodded and followed her back through the curtain. The hall was empty, which was probably a good thing considering how tense Alice seemed. I wasn't much better off. We walked at a quick human pace, down the hall, down the stairs and through the lobby.

The fresh air felt good on my nerves and Alice relaxed too. I inhaled deeply to ease my throat and clear my mind. I offered Alice my arm again. She smiled up at me and took what was offered. I began to walk at a snails pace toward the car. I was no longer in a rush to go anywhere. We had at least ten minutes before anyone would be walking out of the opera house and the streets were deserted.

"Did I tell you that you look beautiful tonight?" I asked.

She smiled shyly, "Um, No you failed to mention that."

"Hum… That's not good. I'll have to fix that."

"It's ok; you're not used to complimenting anyone. I understand," she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"No, you're right. I am not used to it. But that doesn't excuse my lapse," I pulled her to a stop. I turned her to face me, held her by both her upper arms, and looked her strait in the eyes. "You are a beautiful woman. You deserve to be told every minute of everyday. I love you, Alice Whitlock; more than I have ever loved or even felt about anything or anyone in all my hundred years."

"I love you, too," she whispered only for me to hear. She leaned her head on my chest and I embraced her fiercely. "By the way, thank you for that in there. It was… very nice." I bent down to kiss her.

"Ok, come on. I want to do that for you for real. Let's go home."

She took my arm and we continued to walk to the car. My emotions were still scrambled from being near so many other beings and my nerves were still edgy from the human blood. I also, very much, wanted to get home to satisfy Alice properly. To say the least, I was a little distracted. We were almost there. We were in the shadows between street lights, when suddenly Alice screeched and let go of my arm. I didn't understand what happened. I felt Alice's emotions a fraction of a second before I looked her way. She was terrified. Then I saw what had frightened her. I nearly laughed. A man stood there with a knife at Alice's throat and his other arm wrapped around her waist. He must have taken her off guard because there was no way he would have been able to move her if she were aware of him.

I could smell alcohol all over him. His emotions were all over the place. He was angry, sad, and nervous. I was just about to tell Alice to simply walk out of his embrace when he spoke up. "So, cutie, while you're boyfriend is handing all his money over, maybe I can warm you up. You feel a little cold." The hand that was around Alice's waist slowly moved up over her stomach, toward her breasts. I wasn't about to let him violate her. In one quick movement, I reached forward, pulled Alice out of his grasp and before I could stop myself, I sank my teeth into his neck. Moments later, he was dead. I dropped him. I stepped back finally realizing what I had done. I looked to Alice and saw her shocked face. I had killed someone in front of her. A first for her I could have done without. _I need Carlisle._


	20. Chapter 20

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer. **

**Chapter 20**

I called from the payphone across the street. He took three minutes to run there but waiting in the ally with a dead body had been pretty nerve racking. I pretty much knew how to dispose of any body that I had to, but things felt different now that I was trying to fit in with another family. If they would even have me still.

Carlisle arrived, little black bag in hand. Without saying a word he knelt to the body. He put his bag on the ground next to him and laid two fingers on the side of his throat. I held my breath, not sure what was going to happen now. Alice paced. As she passed me, I reached out for her, needing to comfort her. The moment I extended my arm she lunged to me, wrapping her arms around me and pressing hard into my chest.

Carlisle stood up, picking up his bag, shrugged and said, "You never know. I might have been able to fix him." Carlisle was resigned and calm.

Alice's emotions were very sporadic. She felt sad, scared and nervous. But mostly, she felt… guilty? "Alice, take the car home. We'll be there shortly," I said.

She left the alley and some of the tension in my shoulders released. Carlisle and I disposed of the body way out in the Boston Harbor, past Long Island. Not a problem for him and me since we didn't need to breathe. In the run back to the house, our clothes had dried and were stiff with salt water.

Everyone was in the living room when we arrived. I was so ashamed of what had just happened. I was really going to try for Alice. I wanted her to be happy and she seemed happy when we were here with this family. I hung my head low not wanting to meet anyone's eyes.

Before I had completely crossed the threshold, Esme crossed the room and hugged me tightly. "It's ok, we will get through this."

I was confused. I'd just jeopardized this family's secrecy and she was trying to comfort me? They were going to have to move because of what I did. I shouldn't have done it. I didn't know what came over me. I ruined the lives they had built.

Edward cut through my mental dialog. "You may have just joined the family, but you _did_ join the family. That makes you one of us. We watch out for our family. Protect our kind. Changes are permanent around here."

"Yeah, we had to move four years ago for the same reason. I… uh… yeah," Emmett said with a slug to my left shoulder. Not a light one either.

"We move tonight. I have a cabin up in Alaska that we can use until we buy another house," Carlisle said. Then he started organizing and ordering everyone what their job was. "Emmett, back the trucks up to the back door, then clean out your room. Rosalie, you have your room and the garage. Edward, your room. Esme, will you clean our room, then come help me with my office. I could use your help with the books and paintings. Alice, Jasper, please clean your room." He looked between Edward, Emmett and me, "Boys, be sure to get the living room cleaned out as well."

Just like that, everyone was off doing their chores. I waited a moment to speak to Carlisle. "Um, Alice and I…" I didn't know where to go with this. I knew we should leave. I didn't really want to. I know I said Alice seemed happy here, but I was too.

"Don't worry, son. I know what you are trying to say." The look on my face must have contorted, because he chuckled and said, "No, I'm not a mind reader. I just know where people's hearts lie. I know yours is good."

"You can't know that. You have no idea the kind of stuff I've done in the past. I am horrible." I was evil down to the core. The things I did to humans and vampire alike were not things I would want done to me in a million years.

He shook his head. "You may have been forced to do some pretty "horrible" things, but you aren't horrible. You've had a difficult start, but you are better than you believe and we aren't going to give up on you. Alice believes in you too, so go help her clean your room."

I stood there, gaping at the man who had become my new "father" for lack of a better term. "Thank you,"

Texas is AMAZING! I had lived there my whole human life and for one hundred years after that as a vampire. It took me about three and a half to four hours to cross it from Texline down to Brownsville, what would normally take a car fourteen hours to do. Houston was my hometown. I could snoop at the Alamo in San Antonio, or visit the capital in Austin. South Padre Island was great to visit when it wasn't spring or summer break. Texas has everything someone could want. It would always be my home even if I never lived there again.

But there was something about Alaska. I couldn't deny its beauty. Snowy mountains were everywhere. The auroras were a sight to see with their brilliant greens and reds floating across the sky. There was green, blue and white everywhere I looked.

We were completely isolated out there, far from Anchorage and many other small towns. We drove as far as we could then pulled over when the trucks wouldn't drive further. We hauled our things the rest of the way and Carlisle said we could go back for the trucks when we had time to clear the way. The "cabin" Carlisle owned was more like a logged mansion spread at the base of an unnamed lake. There were fifteen rooms in the house: seven bedrooms, an unnecessary and small kitchen, a grand dining room where I was told Carlisle liked to have "family meetings", two living rooms, and four bathrooms (we don't need bathrooms other than to wash ourselves).

Alice chose our room from the bedrooms that weren't already occupied and we settled in. Our room was lake side with an enormous glass wall that displayed a Bob Ross painting. Alice was giggling and I found her in a small room inside ours. She was spinning in circles with her arms spread out around her.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"It's perfect, isn't it?" she asked.

"What is?"

"The closet, silly," she replied, stopping spinning and resting both hands on her hips.

"I don't know. Where is it and I'll tell you.

She spread her arms out again and I took a better look at the room, that wasn't a room at all. It had shelves lining the walls on one side and two rods running on the other side. I laughed. Of course, _this_ was the closet. It was the biggest closet I had ever seen, at least then it was. I have seen much bigger ones living with Alice since then.

I laughed again, shaking my head and left. I went over and sat on the bed. There were still things that were bothering me. I couldn't get over Alice's emotion-cocktail from the other night. I could understand the felt sad, scared and nervousness, but the guilty? I couldn't understand why Alice felt guilty for what I did. Did she think she could have kept me from killing that man? I don't mean to brag, but I am exceptionally quick and I really don't think Alice could have been fast enough to stop me from the attack.

"What's wrong?"

I looked up to see Alice had stopped dancing in the "closet" and leaned against the doorframe. I patted the bed beside me, inviting her to sit with me. "I need to know something." I began.

"Okay, what do you want to know?" she asked.

I figured I should be outright with it, "Why did you feel guilty the other night?"

Alice's hands fidgeted in her lap.

"Please tell me, you know you can tell me anything," I pressed.

She sighed, "I didn't see it happen."

"What do you mean?"

"The man in the street that day, I didn't see him attack me. I saw you attack a half second before you did, but that was because you made the decision to do it and then acted on it. He was a human, slower. I should have seen it in plenty of time that we could have gotten out of there before he attacked me." She looked up at me, "Why didn't I see it?" Her eyes were pleading for me to tell her an answer I didn't know.

"I don't know," I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "Maybe he wasn't making a decision. He was pretty intoxicated you know. Maybe his judgment was clouded by the alcohol and he didn't _decide_ to do anything. Maybe he just _acted_."

"Seems logical enough I suppose." She didn't sound too convinced.

"Alice, you have a wonderful gift, but you aren't foolproof. You can't catch everything, every time. There are going to be many things that slip through the cracks and there will be nothing you can do to fix it. You will just have to move on afterward."

We sat for a few minutes looking in each others eyes, just being together. Finally she said, "Thanks," as if she had accepted what I said was true. Her emotions told me that even if she really didn't believe me right then, she would learn to accept it. I could feel it in her resignation.


	21. Chapter 21

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer. **

**A.N.!!! Ok so here is the thing... Betty and I have been working on the holidays (since we are both so very psyco when it comes to holidays and spend the whole month preparing for them. maybe that is why we LOVE Alice soo much...) and school (for me) and will need to take a small break from Civil War. HOWEVER!!!! We intend to pick up agan after the first of the year. Here is the little bit we started on before we got too busy. Hope you enjoy it...**

**Chapter 21**

Over the year we stayed in Alaska, my eyes turned and stayed gold. They kinda looked pansy like on me but Alice liked them. Not to mention, the gold eyes looked beautiful on her. I never was a fan of the red eyes. They were too obvious. When they were red, everyone would know something was wrong with you. Or if you let them go black, you stood chance of giving yourself away by attacking. With the yellow, I felt free to fill up on the local wildlife and venture into town.

Alice loved going into town. She took me shopping in Anchorage to get used to being around people. More so, we went so she could get more clothes. She filled up the enormous closet and we had to buy some extra racks that were freestanding in the middle of the closet.

Emmett and I found places where we could rough house and Esme wouldn't get upset with us. We usually had to "go hunting" an hour's run away for her to not get after us. His brute strength and my years of combat had us taking every other match. I refused to fight Edward after three hours of him dodging my every move. I started to think if I acted as soon as I thought of the move then I could beat him, but he picked up on that too.

Edward was who I went to when I wanted books for something. I quickly found out that since his nights were so empty, he had plenty of time to read and play music. The music was nice to listen to, but my real fascination was books, history to be precise. I could read everything on all sorts of history. He gave me all of his books on the subject and I dug in.

After I read through what was available to me, I got to thinking about the stories Carlisle told us in Italy. I began to wonder what else might be different from the common knowledge. Carlisle told me many stories. I began to write them down in journals to keep records for the future. I recorded stories about Carlisle, Aro, Caius, and Marcus. I wrote about the take over from Vladimir and Stephan. These stories interested me and I could have listen to Carlisle tell me them all day everyday.

Esme had us running errands for her. She decided to redecorate the cottage and sent us into town to get the supplies for her. We went at least once a week to the hardware store to buy new fixtures and paint etc. I have to say, she had a knack for decorating.

Rosalie rebuilt a car for Alice and me. It was a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette, blood red with a white top. Rosalie kept all of our cars in top shape. Whenever something went wrong, she fixed it. She also went with Alice shopping when I was hunting (for real) with Emmett or Edward. She taught Alice the in's and out's of shopping and fashion. They worked for hours on wardrobes and outfits. They took trips to France to see the latest fashions.

Today was our first day in school. There was a nearby town with a high school that we had to register for. After getting the list of information we needed, I paid a visit to my "old friend", Mr. Binks who happily supplied the family with our new identities; for a fee of course.

North Pole High School, North Pole, AK; honest to goodness, I'm not lying! We enrolled in North Pole High School. North Pole, AK was a small-by-anyone's-standards town and the school was even smaller. That would make it the perfect place to test Alice's and my ability to being near so many people for a prolonged period of time. It would also be easier on my emotional radar than say Bartlett High School in Anchorage with their near 1000 students.

Edward drove us all in his Impala. I asked why we had to drive the "boring" car when we had the more interesting cars in the garage. Carlisle answered that we had to stay inconspicuous. It made sense though I would have much rather ridden into town in the Corvette.

We arrived at the school. The light was beginning the transition from 24 hrs of daylight to 24 hrs of night so it looked like dusk at the moment. Kids were getting out of their cars or being dropped off by their parents. The biggest emotion was nervousness. It slammed all around me reminding me of when I used to get nauseous (back when I was human). There was also excitement and sadness, mixed with fear and boredom. What a cocktail. I felt like a mixed up chameleon trying to decide on a particular emotion. I could tell from that moment, it was going to be a long day.

After picking up our schedules and briefly comparing them, we separated and went to our first classes. Edward was in this one with me, shop class. Not a bad place to begin. At least we were going to be moving and doing things, instead of sitting still. Alice was in four of my classes and that was all that really mattered. I would be able to play with her in my spare time.

I sat tentatively on my stool next to Edward. He was supposed to keep me under control and warn me when he thought I might need to leave (he had been through this before). The air around me permeated with excitement and nerves. I was used to the annoyance and MOSTLY able to keep it under control. I say mostly because Edward looked at me after about five minutes, agony in his eyes. I whispered "sorry" just loud enough for him to hear and locked the emotions down a little more.

The day continued the same. All my classes had one of the more experienced vegetarians in it with me and one with Alice. It took some work to get it set up that way but we managed it as we do all things. Edward and I worked together on that. He read their thoughts, telling them what they needed to hear and I influenced them to just want to say "yes". Later Edward told me that was the easiest persuading he had ever experienced, and that was saying something.

During lunch, we got the student lunch and sat at a table far from everyone else in the cafeteria. It suited me fine because the distance put a small break in the stress that was the student body. I had no idea how bad the hormones in these teens could be. So far I had to let off some "steam" if you will, with getting Alice off three times. The hormones are overwhelming in high school. I even got some dirt on a couple teachers hooking up in the teacher's lounge.

Toward the end of the day, I found myself trying to calm those around me to give myself some peace. I thought I deserved it. It had been a long day and I handled it very well. I just wanted to relax a little myself. I'm sure those around me enjoyed being relaxed so I didn't take any guilt into it.


End file.
